Investors buying up Dayton-area neighborhoods: 5 key takeaways from our reporting

Here are 5 key takeaways from Tom’s reporting:

1. Fed findings: Investors owned nearly a third of single-family homes in some parts of the county in 2024 — particularly West Dayton, but also other parts of the city and, to a less concentrated extent, in parts of Kettering and Miami Twp., according to data from the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland.

- The Fed data says activity in these “hotpots” is up 2.5% since 2018. From 2018 to 2024, commercial investors were involved in 3,192 single-family home transactions in Montgomery County hotspots.

2. Concerns: “Something we’ve heard repeatedly was concerns about investors competing with first-time homebuyers, investors using cash to buy homes in competition with first-time homebuyers, concern about out-of-state investors, investors not maintaining properties,” said Matt Klesta, a senior policy analyst for the Fed and author of a new report on the topic

3. Bright spot: Talib Petaway is a Dayton resident and the kind of investor local housing advocates want. He is fixing up a Yale Avenue home with the hopes of selling it to a family who will plant roots and form community.

- “I do look forward to more owners buying over there,” he said. “And not just in that area, but in the vicinity. Because we have a lot of good things going on. We need more, not just passionate people, but people looking to grow their families, with as many single(-family) homes as we have.”

4. Trump order: In January, President Donald Trump signed an executive order directing federal agencies to cease facilitating ”the acquisition by a large institutional investor of a single-family home that could otherwise be purchased by an individual owner-occupant."

5. State lawmaker: Tom spoke to a state lawmaker who has tried for years to back legislation taxing landlords who amass giant portfolios. Read more about those state-level efforts here, and why the Republican lawmaker is skeptical about his odds.

Full story: Go here for the full story, including a map showing where the Fed identified “hotspots” of investor buying in Montgomery County, discussion of city-led efforts to address neglect by corporate property owners, and perspective from experts and investors.