“When
there
were
national
articles
being
written
about
Toledo
and
Youngstown,
those
areas
were
always
pointed
out
as
places
that
would
never,
never
be
back
to
what
they
were,”
said
Scott
Williams,
CEO
of

Ohio
REALTORS.
“I
can’t
say
that
they’re
completely
back,
but
there
has
been
a
great
deal
of
investment
in
the
state.”

The
performance
of
Ohio’s
housing
markets
reflects
this
trend.
There
are
few
towns
that
embody
the
phrase
“Rust
Belt”
more
than

Toledo,
as
it
was
hit
particularly
hard
by
job
flight.
This
pushed
the
median

home
price
there
below
$200,000.

But
that’s
changed
rapidly
as
jobs
have
begun
to
return
and
investors
have
flooded
the
market.
For
any
given
week
at
the
start
of
2025,
the
median
home
price
in
Toledo
was
up
more
than
30%
year
over
year,
according
to
data
from


Altos,
although
appreciation
has
since
settled
down
to
9.4%
annual
growth.

Cleveland
has
a
similar
story.
There
are
few
major
metro
areas
where
home
prices
are
rising
faster
than
Cleveland,
as
it’s
arguably
the
hottest
market
in
the
country.
That’s
been
repeatedly
validated
by
housing
market
reports
from
across
the
real
estate
industry.

Starting
in
2023,
Altos
data
shows
year-over-year
price
gains
in
Cleveland
consistently
reaching
double
digits.
In
the
first
weeks
of
June
2025,
growth
dropped
below
10%
but
is
still
up
a
hefty
8.7%.

This
comes
despite
Cleveland’s
reputation
as
an
unattractive
city
in
a
depressed
area.

“We
get
beat
up,”
said
Jerry
Quade,
a
Cleveland-based


Redfin
agent.
“We’re
the
city
where
the
river
burned
in
the
’60s
—
the
Cuyahoga
River.
Cincinnati
is
‘the
Queen
City.’
We’re
the
dirty
city, but
we
love
it
and
so
do
people
who
move
here.”

There
are
several
reasons
for
Ohio’s
revival.
While
home
prices
have
risen
considerably
since
the

COVID-19
pandemic
began,
the
median
price
in
Toledo
is
$294,900
and
Cleveland’s
is
$250,000
—
generally
affordable
compared
to
other
parts
of
the
country.

The
so-called

“flight
to
the
suburbs”
that
started
during
the
pandemic
can
be
better
understood
as
a
“flight
to
affordability,”
and
that
phenomenon
is
still
playing
out
in
Ohio.

There
are
plenty
of
reasons
that
employers
like
setting
up
shop
in
Ohio,
with
an
understated
one
being
the
climate.

“One
of
the
things
that
was
surprising
to
me
that
I
never
really
thought
about
was
just
the
lack
of
natural
disasters,”
said
Allison
Wiley,
vice
president
of
marketing
and
communications
for
Ohio
REALTORS.
“We
aren’t
dealing
with

hurricanes.
We’re
not
getting
earthquakes.
We’re
not
getting

fires.
That’s
very
attractive
to
these
companies
and
a
big
draw.”

But
the
single
biggest
reason
for
the
resurgence
is
the
state’s
investment
in
bringing
advanced
manufacturing
to
the
state.
This
push
occurred
under
former
Gov.
John
Kasich,
who
ironically
fell
victim
to
Trump’s
populist
manufacturing
message
during
the
2016

Republican
primary.

In
2011,
Kasich
signed
a
law
that
created

JobsOhio,
a
quasi-state
agency
that
works
on
economic
development.
Staffed
with
executives
from
the
private
sector
and
funded
by
taxes
on
alcohol
sales,
JobsOhio
has
lured
a
number
of
major
employers
to
the
state.

It’s
been
instrumental
in
not
only
bringing
jobs
to
the
state
but
in
retaining
existing
ones.
According
to
data
from
JobsOhio,
the
Buckeye
State
gained
16,457
jobs
in
2023
and
retained
another
27,836
—
although
these
numbers
are
lower
than
those
of
the
previous
three
years.

Some
cities
that
lost
manufacturing
pivoted
to
other
job
sectors
to
juice
their
economies,
but
not
Ohio,
which
doubled
down
on
manufacturing.

In
2023,
the
state
added
4,552
advanced
manufacturing
jobs,
which
accounted
for
27%
of
all
new
jobs.
Aerospace
and
aviation
(2,372);
automotive
(1,642);
information
technology
(857);
and
logistics
and
distribution
(1,215)
also
accounted
for
a
good
chunk
of
Ohio’s
new
jobs.

Some
of
the
new
or
planned
employers
in
Ohio
include
a

Honda

electric
vehicle
battery
manufacturing
plant,
an

Intel
semiconductor
plant,

Anduril

drone
manufacturing
and
a

new
Cleveland
headquarters
for

Sherwin
Williams.

The
flight
to

affordability
in
Ohio
will
inevitably
drive
up
prices
the
longer
it
goes,
and
some
of
the
planned
new
manufacturing
plants
have
hit
snags
—

Intel’s
in
particular.
But
there’s
no
sign
Ohio
will
lose
its
momentum
long
term.

“It’s
cyclical,
and
when
this
cycle
is
going
to
end,
we
don’t
know,”
Quade
said.
“But
we
just
go
with
it.
‘Make
hay
while
the
sun
shines,’
like
my
dad
used
to
say.”