Are Akron Home Prices Still Rising? It Depends on Whose Number You Read

Are Akron Home Prices Still Rising? It Depends on Whose Number You Read

By Mike Ferrante, Broker Associate, The Mike Team at LPT Realty

Ask the internet whether Akron home prices are still going up and you'll get a yes. Ask how much, and you'll get a different answer depending on which site you open. For an investor, that gap matters, because the appreciation line on a spreadsheet is where optimism likes to hide.

What the sources were reporting

Here's what two of the most widely used sources showed for the City of Akron as of their most recent public updates, with Summit County for context:

• Redfin, City of Akron: a median sale price of about $148,000 for the three months ending May 2026, up 8.2% from a year earlier, with homes selling in about 27 days and receiving about three offers on average.
• Zillow Home Value Index, City of Akron: a typical home value of about $141,600 as of July 31, 2026, up 3.2% over the past year.
• Redfin, Summit County: a median sale price of about $239,000 for the three months ending June 2026, up 0.8%.

So is Akron up 3% or 8%? Both numbers are real. They're measuring different things.

Why the numbers don't match

A median sale price is simply the middle of whatever happened to sell in that window. If more renovated homes sold this spring than last spring, the median jumps even if no individual house gained much. Zillow's index tries to estimate the value of all homes, including the ones that didn't sell, which smooths out those swings.

In a city like Akron, where one neighborhood can trade at half the price of another a mile away, the mix of what sold moves the median a lot. Redfin's own East Akron page shows the effect: the median sale price up about 11% for the same period while price per square foot was reported down sharply. That's what a small, shifting sample looks like. Neither source is wrong. One tells you what buyers paid for the homes that sold. The other tells you what a typical house is probably worth.

What actually changed for investors this year is the rate

Freddie Mac's 30-year average hit 7.03% the week of September 24, the first time it crossed 7% in about 20 months. Earlier this year it had briefly dipped below 6%.

Here's what that does to a simple example. Take a $150,000 Akron rental bought with 25% down, so a $112,500 loan. At 5.9%, principal and interest run about $667 a month. At 7.03%, about $751. That's roughly $84 a month, or about $1,000 a year, gone from cash flow before a single repair. Investment property loans usually price above the Freddie Mac average, so your actual rate and payment may be higher still.

How I'd underwrite an Akron rental right now

• Make it work on today's rent and today's rate. If the deal only works when you plug in 8% appreciation, it doesn't work.
• Use neighborhood comps, not a citywide median. Akron's range is too wide for one number to mean much for a specific house.
• Budget at least 10% contingency on older housing stock. That's a rule I've kept through more than 50 flips. Older homes nearly always find a way to use it.
• Know your numbers before the offer, not after. The time to find out the rate on an investment loan is before you're under contract.
• Treat appreciation as the upside, not the plan. If the lower estimate turns out to be right, you're still fine. If the higher one holds, that's a bonus.

Is Akron still worth a look?

Yes, and the entry price is why. Both sources put Akron's typical home at a fraction of the Summit County median, and Redfin reports multiple offers on the average sale. That combination is why investors keep coming back to Akron. The point isn't to avoid it. It's to buy on numbers you'd be comfortable with if the more conservative estimate is the right one.

If you're weighing an Akron rental, we're happy to run the numbers with you on a specific property. Reach The Mike Team at www.21mike.com, call +1(216)373-7727, or find us on Google.