March 2026 Apartments by Cleveland Jewish Publication Company

ALL ABOUT APARTMENTS

Nearly half of Ohio’s renters paying more than they can afford on rent, new report shows

MEGAN HENRY | OHIO CAPITAL JOURNAL

Anew report shows nearly half of Ohio’s 1.58 million renters are paying more than they can a ord on rent. Ohio also has a shortage of 266,000 a ordable and available rental units, the report shows.

Of Ohio’s 422,098 extremely low-income renters, 73% of these households spend more than half of their income on rent – up from 66% ve years ago, according to the 2026 Gap Report by the National Low Income Housing Coalition and

the Coalition on Homelessness and Housing in Ohio.

“ e data con rms what we hear all the time – renters across the board are having more trouble paying rent,” Ohio coalition Executive Director Amy Riegel said in a statement.

“For people at the bottom of the pay scale, rent is gobbling up most of their paychecks. But this report shows the rent Pac-Man is moving up the income ladder.”

Ohio has 37 a ordable units available for every 100 extremely low-income households – which earn less than $33,000 a year for a family of four, according to the report.

lead to eviction and potentially homelessness,” Riegel said.

“We need action, and we look forward to working with elected o cials to nd a path out of the housing crisis.” ere were 11,759 people experiencing homelessness in Ohio in 2024 – about a 3% increase, according to HUD.

Nearly 80% of those experiencing homelessness in Ohio were sheltered while the rest were unsheltered.

e report shows no state has an adequate supply of a ordable and available homes for the lowest-income renters.

Ohio has the seventh most extremely low-income households behind California, New York, Texas, Florida, Illinois and Pennsylvania, the report shows.

Cincinnati has a reported shortage of nearly 55,000 units, Cleveland lacks 54,000 units and Columbus has a shortage of 53,000 units.

Cleveland’s ratio of a ordable units available to extremely low-income renters was 36 to 100, 32 to 100 in Cincinnati, and 27 to 100 units in Columbus.

e U.S. has a shortage of 7.2 million rental homes a ordable and available to renters with extremely low incomes, and 35 a ordable and available rental homes exist for every 100 extremely low-income renter households, according to the report.

“When renters are housing cost-burdened, they cannot a ord to cover other basic necessities such as food, health care, transportation, or childcare,” NLIHC President and CEO Renee M. Willis said in a statement.

A ordable housing costs 30% or less of a person’s gross income, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

“Policymakers must focus on the most vulnerable – the hundreds of thousands of hard-working Ohioans who are living on the edge, where a sudden illness or car repair can

Ohioans need to be making at least $22.51 an hour working a full-time job to be able to a ord a “modest” twobedroom apartment, according to NLIHC and COHHIO’s 2025 Out of Reach report. Ohio’s minimum wage is $11 an hour for non-tipped workers.

Cleveland rental market hot due to supply and demand

ALAN KRONENBERG

There’s good news about Cleveland’s rental market. Recent research from Marcus & Millichap, an Independence-based commercial real estate rm, found that the rental market in the Cleveland metropolitan area is experiencing better performance than others across the country due to supply and demand.

Svetlana Kertesz, chief operating o cer of the Ohio City-based real estate and management company My Place Group, said she didn’t nd this to be surprising.

“I think Cleveland has grown signi cantly over the last ve to seven years, and it’s continuing to grow,” Kertesz said.

She added that exciting things are happening in the Cleveland metropolitan area, like the development of Irishtown Bend Park and other areas in the Flats and along the waterfront, which is in uencing demand in the rental market.

“I think it’s creating more and more of a demand for people to want to actually move to the metropolitan area, to downtown

Cleveland and also to the new growing neighborhoods that are right outside of Downtown Cleveland,” Kertesz said.

e corresponding element to this demand is the supply of new apartments, which she said Cleveland manages well by not overbuilding.

“But, I think generally why Cleveland is doing better is there’s not an in ux or overbuild” of new properties, Kertesz said.

“In terms of some of the other markets, I know, for example, Denver – there’s so many apartment complexes where they have too much supply for the demand that’s there.”

Joy Anzalone, chief operating o cer of the Warrensville Heights-based Burton Carol Management Company LLC., also acknowledged the limited new construction in Cleveland and its e ect on renters.

“But, we do not have a lot of new construction,” Anzalone said. “If you go to Florida, they’re building – you see construction beams everywhere you go, and they’re building new always. ere’s not a lot of new building in Cleveland, so it’s people absorbing the existing inventory

of apartments. And I think that’s one of the reasons that Cleveland is doing OK.”

Another factor that Anzalone noted is the current housing market, as the costs associated with buying and selling a house along with the ongoing housing shortage are keeping people in the rental market.

“So, there hasn’t been a lot of house buying and house selling as was in the past, because anybody that’s in a house now that nanced it several years ago, they were paying a lower interest rate,” Anzalone said. “Interest rates are higher, and so it’s harder to move out of a lower interest rate. When somebody is selling a house right now, there’s not a lot of product and they may park themselves in an apartment for a while until they decide what they’re going to do.”

e result of these factors on Cleveland’s rental market is that business is doing well, with a limited supply and high demand causing rent prices to increase. But Anzalone also noted another reason behind Cleveland’s success: its uniqueness.

“I think that the Cleveland rental market is one of the best kept secrets in the country,” she said. “I think that the management companies and owners that are here are really dedicated to Cleveland, and there’s a lot of variety in product at incredible value compared to other places in the country. And I think that the Cleveland market is special compared to other markets – and we’re in, as I said, Michigan, Ohio and Florida. It’s not a transient market, and people that live here really want to stay here, which is good.”

Anzalone Kertesz

House of David Preservation buys three apartments

JIMMY OSWALD joswald@cjn.org

House of David Preservation, a Kansas City-based nonpro t that helps provide housing for low-income senior citizens, families and people with disabilities, bought a trio of apartment buildings in Cleveland for $14 million on March 17, according to the Cuyahoga County Auditor’s O ce website.

Rainbow Place Apartments at 7829 Euclid Ave., CHN Rainbow Group Apartments at 1946 E. 79th St. and Rainbow Group Apartments at 2025-2057 E. 81st St. were sold by Rainbow Apartments Limited Partnership to House of David and Capital Realty Group of New York City, which directly partners with House of David in a ordable housing

Here’s a room-by-room

FEATURE IMPACT

After months of winter, spring cleaning isn’t just about dusting and vacuuming – it’s about inviting sunlight and fresh air into your space through the open windows and giving yourself a fresh start for the longer days ahead.

preservation projects, according to tax records, and is known for its work in property management, investment and development, according to its website.

Capital Realty owns and operates a ordable housing units in 27 states, including several in Northeast Ohio and Columbus.

In June 2023, Wexner Heritage Village in Columbus sold its a ordable housing properties to Capital Realty Group and House of David Preservation to manage, own and renovate. e sale encompassed Heritage Tower, a 100-unit building within the Wexner Heritage Village campus, and Bexley Heritage and Village Shalom Apartments transferred later that year, according to previous Columbus Jewish News reporting.

Sam Horowitz, vice president of Capital Realty, previously

told the CJN that as “a Jewish faith-based organization, we’re very happy to service the local Columbus Jewish community.”

Now, Capital Realty and House of David Preservation will look to serve Cleveland’s MidTown district as it takes over the three a ordable housing properties.

Rainbow Place Apartments, which has one- and twobedroom units, has 101 units of a ordable housing. It is the biggest of the three properties sold with the eight-story, 87,272-square-foot building on a 1.46-acre lot.

CHN Rainbow Group Apartments has 40 units and the ve-story, 39,045-square-foot building sits on 1.32 acres. Rainbow Group Apartments also has 40 units and the threestory, 33,154-square-foot building is on 1.36 acres.

Rent for units in the properties start at $1,297 per month.

spring cleaning checklist

It’s also a perfect opportunity to clear out the old and make room for new experiences, memories and energy. Whether you’re tackling deep cleaning for the rst time or you have seasonal rituals for tidying up your home, this room-by-room guide can help you plan and conquer seasonal chores.

WHOLE HOME

• Declutter spaces: Donate, recycle or discard what you don’t need

• Wash windows inside and out

• Dust baseboards, walls, vents and ceiling fans

• Wipe down doors, knobs and light switches

• Vacuum and clean under and behind furniture

• Clean curtains and blinds

• Store seasonal items like winter clothing and decor

• Replace air lters

BATHROOMS

• Scrub grout and tile

• Clean mirrors and glass surfaces

• Deep clean toilets

• Wipe down cabinets and bathroom xtures

• Wash rugs, oor mats and the shower curtain and liner

• Empty trash and clean the bin

BEDROOMS AND OTHER LIVING AREAS

• Wash bedding, pillows and linens

• Organize closets and drawers

• Shampoo carpet

KITCHEN

• Empty and wipe down refrigerator and freezer

• Clean oven, stovetop and microwave

• Scrub countertops and backsplashes

• Clean out the garbage disposal

• Sweep and mop oors

• Organize the pantry and throw away any expired items

• Vacuum chair, couches and mattresses as well as under cushions

• Dust shelves and decor

• Clean light xtures and lampshades

Heller named executive of the year by Multifamily Executive

JIMMY OSWALD joswald@cjn.org

J. David Heller, president, CEO and cofounder of the Cleveland-based e NRP Group, was named Multifamily Executive’s 2025 Executive of the Year in September 2025 for his work building up the rm that specializes in the development, building and managing of multifamily housing.

Heller, who founded the company with Al Scott in 1994 when he was 28 years old, helped grow the company to 1,100 employees. e NRP Group has developed and constructed over 63,000 a ordable, mixed-income and market-rate apartment homes, and it manages more than 30,000 units, according to Multifamily Executive.

Heller grew up in Shaker Heights as the son of a partner at KPMG, and his father introduced him to some in uential leaders and pillars of the Jewish community in Cleveland, according to Multifamily Executive, with businessman

Mort Mandel, real estate mogul Albert Ratner and bank president Bobby Goldberg all cited as teachers of Heller.

Multifamily Executive is a media publication and online platform that provides news for senior-level owners, developers and operators in the multifamily housing industry.

Among the properties NRP Group manages and owns in Cleveland is 5115 at e Rising, A Place for Us, Cornerstone Senior Apartments, Eagle Heights, Foster Pointe, Four Seasons at Kent, Library Lofts, Oberlin Homes, Residences at Cornerstone, the Collins, e Davis, e Davis II, e Edison at Gordon Square, the Vue, Via Sana, Village at Arlington and Willowbrook.

Heller was a member of the 2016 class of Cleveland Jewish News 18 Di erence Makers. He served as board chair of the Jewish Federation of Cleveland from 2019 to 2022.

On March 9, he was awarded the Mendy Klein Community Service Award at the Hebrew Academy of Cleveland’s 83rd Scholarship Tribute Dinner.