The Port of Greater Cincinnati Development Authority

Since the foreclosure crisis of 2008, institutional investors have been purchasing large numbers of single-family homes and turning them into high-priced rental properties all around the country. As of 2018, these out-of-town investors have purchased more than 4,000 single-family homes in Hamilton County, Ohio. These investors typically look to purchase homes in some of the region’s most disinvested neighborhoods, leaving many renters vulnerable to eviction, threatening the stability of communities and the local economy. Instead of local ownership stimulating local reinvestment, rents and profits contribute to economies elsewhere, in cities where the investors are based. In addition, institutional investors in Hamilton County have been known to be substandard landlords with frequent code violations and poor property maintenance records.​

To interrupt this cycle of investor activity in the local real estate market, The Port of Greater Cincinnati Development Authority (The Port) placed a bid on 194 single-family homes formerly owned by an out-of-town institutional investor that fell into receivership. In late January 2022, The Port closed on this acquisition and launched the CARE Homes initiative (Creating Affordable Real Estate.) ​

The Port’s intent with the CARE Homes is to create viable pathways to homeownership for current rental tenants of these homes to generate personal equity in area communities. By purchasing these 194 rental properties, The Port intends to create homeownership opportunities for the current occupant renters through: Assessing the qualifications of current rental tenants for homeownership; Providing training and education for future homeowners through local nonprofit partners; Maintenance and improvement of properties; Connection to down payment assistance and other resources; Transitioning of properties to homeownership.​