Reichle Klein Group’s 2024 Mid-Year Apartment Market Overview

The market-rate apartment market in Toledo, Ohio performed well again in the first half of 2024 according to the Reichle Klein Group’s mid-year 2024 survey. Vacancy ticked up slightly to 4% from 3.8% at year-end 2023. The Central Business District and the student housing market around the University of Toledo are the only outliers among the submarkets, each with vacancies over 6%. The Central Business District vacancy rate did decline from year-end 2023, however. The Perrysburg/Northwood/Rossford submarket continues to lead the market with vacancies well below the overall market average. Impressive performance given the number of units added to the submarket in the prior decade.

Asking rents continue to rise across the market driving the average monthly asking rent to $998 for the overall market, a 3.2% increase in the first half of 2024. This rate of increase is less than the remarkable 7.9% annual growth rate the market has achieved since the end of 2019, but still well ahead of what was typical for the market prior to 2020. We found the actual results of the survey a bit inconsistent with some of the commentary provided by owners and managers during our survey. Many expressed that they were not being as aggressive on rent increases as they had been over the past several years. Perhaps this sentiment will be more evident in our year-end survey results.

Two new communities were delivered in the first half of 2024, both of which are in the Central Business District and total 193 units. 518 units in five different developments were under construction at our mid-year 2024 survey point. Of the communities under construction, two are in Perrysburg, one in Maumee and two within the City of Toledo.

The national press has been talking about distress in the apartment investment ecosystem, looming or already producing defaults. There is little evidence of it in the Toledo apartment market so far, save one receivership sale that we performed in the first half of 2024. The particular circumstances of that default are anomalous and don’t themselves portend more to come. We do see continued demand for apartment investments and buyers able to perform.