Why Cleveland
A market where the rent is published and the buildings are cheap.
We work Cleveland's east side because the arithmetic is unusual: renovated duplexes trade between $120,000 and $180,000, and the housing authority publishes, ZIP code by ZIP code, exactly what it will pay for them.
The rent schedule
2026 payment standards, by ZIP.
The Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority sets a monthly payment standard per bedroom count in each ZIP code. A voucher tenant's rent is paid up to that figure, most of it directly by the authority. These are the 2026 figures for the ZIPs we buy in.
| ZIP · Neighborhood | 2 bedroom | 3 bedroom |
|---|---|---|
| 44120 · Buckeye–Shaker | $1,367 | $1,762 |
| 44128 · Lee–Harvard | $1,412 | $1,819 |
| 44109 · Old Brooklyn | $1,220 | $1,570 |
| 44108 · Glenville | $1,310 | $1,683 |
| 44103 · St. Clair–Superior | $1,209 | $1,559 |
| 44105 · Slavic Village | $1,209 | $1,559 |
A two-unit building with two 3-bedroom apartments in 44128 has a scheduled rent of $3,638 a month. Buildings like that have come across our desk this year between $140,000 and $190,000.
Source: CMHA FY2026 ZIP-based payment standards, verified September 2026. Standards are updated annually and a unit must pass the authority's housing-quality inspection to qualify. Market-rate rents in the same ZIPs are generally lower; we underwrite to whichever the plan uses.
Demand
More vouchers than approvable units.
The constraint in Cleveland is not tenants. It is buildings that pass inspection. That is the gap a properly renovated duplex fills.
Voucher households across Cuyahoga County, concentrated on the east side.
Signal Cleveland, 2024–2025People invited off the CMHA waitlist every month, each with 90 to 180 days to find a unit.
Signal Cleveland, 2024–2025Share of new voucher holders who lease up within six months. Many of the rest lose the voucher for want of a unit.
Signal Cleveland, 2025Tenure
Tenants who stay.
Turnover is the quiet cost in rental property. Voucher households move far less often than market renters, which is why our stressed case uses a 5% vacancy reserve rather than the 8 to 10% a market-rate building would need.
Median length of stay for voucher households, 6.6 years on average.
HUD, Length of Stay in Assisted HousingAverage length of stay for the same households. Turnover is the cost that quietly eats a market-rate building's return.
HUD, Length of Stay in Assisted HousingWhat we plan for a first voucher lease-up, including inspection and paperwork. It is slower to start and steadier after.
NPC operating assumptionWhere we buy
Six ZIPs, walked every week.
We stay inside a small map on purpose. Knowing a street's sale history, which blocks the inspectors flag, and what a roof costs there is worth more than a wider net.
44120 · 44128 · 44109
Buckeye–Shaker, Lee–Harvard and Old Brooklyn. The strongest payment standards and the steadiest resale.
44108 · 44103
Glenville and St. Clair–Superior. Lower entry prices with visible institutional investment arriving around University Circle and the lakefront.
44105 · Akron
Slavic Village and select Akron ZIPs. Priced for cash flow; we buy there only when the building and the block both clear.
Next step
See the numbers on a real building.
We will send you a full breakdown of a property on the market this week, underwritten the way we would for you.