The Lorain market, by the numbers
From our own transaction records and HUD data for Lorain ZIP codes.
Updated 2026-09-18.
Lorain · OH
3 bed / 1 bathTypical home we buy
1,357 sq ftMedian size
32 daysMedian days on market
$1,450/moHUD Fair Market Rent, 3BR
3ZIP codes we buy in
Across the Lorain properties in our records, the median time on market is 32 days. A cash sale skips that window entirely — there is no listing period, no showings, and no financing contingency that can collapse at day 30.
HUD sets Fair Market Rent for a 3-bedroom in Lorain at $1,450/month. That number is why we can pay cash here: many of these homes work as long-term rentals for us, so we are not dependent on reselling quickly to make the numbers work.
Open code citations and the inspection cycle
Open citations follow the property and several municipalities escrow funds at closing until they are corrected. We treat that as a normal line item rather than a surprise at the table.
Delinquent taxes and the county land bank
Delinquent taxes get paid from the proceeds. If the county has already started forfeiture there is a hard deadline involved, so tell us early and we will check where it actually stands.
ZIP codes we buy in around Lorain
440524405344055
That is 3 ZIP codes across Lorain — including 44052, 44053, 44055. Not listed? We still look at it — Ohio deals outside these ZIPs come through regularly.
What homes are actually selling for in Lorain
We pulled 506 recorded sales across the Lorain ZIP codes we work in. Publishing it is the point: you cannot tell whether an offer is fair without knowing what the finished product sells for.
Recorded sales · Lorain
$174,202Median sale price
$128Median per sq ft
506Sales analysed
1956Median year built
Between $134,375 and $246,250 covers half of all Lorain sales in our data. Anyone quoting you a firm number before seeing the property is guessing inside that range.
Recorded sales in our own comparable-sales database for these ZIP
codes. Sale prices reflect what buyers paid for homes in their condition at the time —
they are not an appraisal of your property and not an offer.
Lorain by ZIP code
We underwrite by ZIP, not by city. Here is what each one looks like in our data:
Look at the gap between 44053 ($255,000) and 44055 ($139,000). Same city, roughly 83% apart. Anyone quoting you a citywide price per square foot is not looking at your block.
Sale figures are medians of recorded sales in our comparable-sales
database; rent is HUD Fair Market Rent for that ZIP. A dash means we do not hold enough data
for that ZIP to publish a number we would stand behind.
What the Lorain market is doing right now
Whole-market figures for every Lorain ZIP code we buy in, from the Restar
housing database · August 2026. These are not our numbers — they cover every sale in the ZIP, not
just ours.
Lorain · OH · live market
$170,301Median sale price · +7.2% yr/yr
30 daysDays on market · +8.0 days yr/yr
$123Price per sq ft
30Homes listed for sale · +20.0% yr/yr
$1,102/moMedian rent
0.99Sale-to-list ratio
A house listed in Lorain is currently taking a median of 30 days to go under contract, 8 days longer than a year ago, and that is only the clock until it goes under contract — a financed buyer then needs another 30 to 45 days to close, assuming their loan holds.
Values across these ZIP codes are up 4.8% year over year. If the house is in condition to list and you have time, that is an argument for listing it — we would rather tell you that than win a deal you regret.
There are +20.0% more homes on the market than a year ago, which means a listing competes with more of them.
Median rent of $1,102 against a median sale price of $170,301 is a gross yield near 7.8%. That is the honest reason we can pay cash in Lorain: many of these houses work as rentals for us, so we are not dependent on reselling quickly.
Source: Restar (restar.io) housing database,
built from public records and MLS-derived feeds. A dash means that ZIP has no published figure for
that measure this month.
Lorain inside Lorain County
Where a market sits relative to its county tells you which buyers can afford it and how
long they take to commit. Here is Lorain County against the Lorain ZIP codes specifically.
The Lorain ZIP codes we buy in run 41% below the Lorain County median of $288,534. That gap is the reason a countywide price per square foot is useless for pricing your house, and it is why our offers are underwritten by ZIP.
Time on market differs too: a median of 30 days in the Lorain ZIP codes against 24 days across Lorain County.
County-wide, the median sale price is -1.9% against a year ago.
County figures from the Restar housing database; the Lorain column is the
median across the ZIP codes listed above. Income is the most recent Census estimate.
What we actually buy in Lorain
Lorain the city and Lorain County are two different price points, and confusing them is the most common mistake we see sellers make here. The county's median sale is around $289,000. The three ZIP codes we buy in - 44052, 44053, 44055 - run a median of about $170,000.
If a buyer quotes you county comparables on a house in 44055, they are quoting Avon and North Ridgeville at you. Our own comp database holds 506 recorded sales in these ZIP codes with a median of $174,000 and a lower quartile of $134,000. Those are the numbers that apply.
The market is improving: values up about 5% over the year, listings under contract in a median of 30 days, inventory up 20% but from a very low base. The typical house here was built in 1956, and in a lakefront industrial city that means original electrical, wood windows, and a basement that has taken water.
Ohio's municipal specifics apply in full here. Unpaid water and sewer charges follow the deed rather than the person and are paid from proceeds at closing, and open code citations are escrowed until corrected. Neither stops us. Both routinely stop a lender.
What that means for an offer in Lorain
Below is the same maths every cash buyer runs, using the median Lorain sale price as the starting point.
This is an illustration, not an offer on your house. A property needing less work than the median moves the number up; one needing a roof and mechanicals moves it down. If a buyer will not walk you through these four lines on your specific property, that is the moment to be suspicious.
If your house is in good condition, this is also the calculation that tells you to
list it instead. We will say so. The full breakdown of
how the offer is built covers where the line falls.
What it costs to sell a house in Lorain
Run on the median Lorain sale price of $174,202 from our own
recorded-sales data, with the Ohio transfer tax at its statutory
rate. This is the listing route; the right-hand column is what a cash sale removes.
How to work out your net proceeds in Lorain
Every closing statement follows the same formula:
Net proceeds = sale price − mortgage payoff − closing costs
− commissions − repairs and concessions
On the median Lorain sale with an illustrative $78,500 still owed, listing
nets roughly $79,940 after the $15,762 of costs above. A cash offer
starts below the retail price but carries none of those five deductions, which is why the two
routes land closer together than the headline numbers suggest — and why, on a house in
good condition that can wait 60 to 90 days, listing still usually wins.
Illustrative arithmetic on this market's median, not a quote on your
property. Commission is customary rather than fixed and is negotiable; your payoff, liens and
tax proration are specific to your file. See
the full cash offer versus listing
comparison to run it on your own numbers, or
what seller closing costs actually cover.
How a closing actually works in Ohio
Ohio closings go through a title agency, and several municipalities here require a point-of-sale inspection with funds escrowed at closing until violations are corrected. County treasurers also run delinquent tax certificate sales, which puts a hard clock on some properties.
On our side the sequence is the same every time: title search, payoff figures ordered on
any existing mortgage, liens and municipal balances identified, then funds and deed recorded.
Nothing about a cash sale skips title work — what it skips is the lender, the appraisal
and the financing contingency, which is where most retail contracts on Lorain houses
actually die.
General information about how these transactions typically proceed, not
legal or tax advice. Your closing agent or attorney is the authority on your specific file.
What Ohio law requires when you sell
Every row below is a statute rather than our opinion, and each one links to the primary
source so you can check it yourself. These are also the items that most often delay a closing
in Lorain.
Disclosure
Ohio requires the Residential Property Disclosure Form on most one-to-four unit sales, delivered before you accept an offer. Estates, trusts and sheriff's sales are exempt. If the form arrives late the buyer gets a rescission right, so it is worth getting right the first time.
Transfer tax
Counties may add up to $3 per $1,000 on top of the $1 state fee, so the real total runs $1 to $4 per $1,000 depending on where the property sits. The figure used on this page is the $4 per $1,000 top of that range; your county auditor publishes the exact one.
Who closes the file
Ohio closings are conducted by a title agency. No attorney is required, and the title agency is the party that clears liens and records the deed.
Tax on the gain
Ohio income tax applies to gain above the federal exclusion, and some municipalities tax it as well. Federally, the primary-residence exclusion shelters up to $250,000 of
gain if you are single and $500,000 if you are married filing jointly, provided you owned and
lived in the house for two of the last five years — see
IRS Topic 701. An
inherited property takes a stepped-up basis at the date of death, which usually means little
or no taxable gain if you sell soon after.
General information about Ohio practice, current as of
2026-09-18. It is not legal or tax advice, and rates set at county or municipal level vary
within the state. Your closing agent, attorney or CPA is the authority on your file.
Our offer versus listing it in Lorain
The listing timeline is the median days on market for Lorain in our own records, plus a typical financed closing. Commission is the customary 6% and varies by agreement.
Three days to change your mind
If you accept an offer, you have three days after signing to walk away for any reason
at all, with nothing owed and no explanation needed. We would rather lose a deal than
have someone feel cornered into one.
Sometimes you should not sell to us
If the house is in good shape and you are not in a hurry, listing it will almost
always net you more than we can offer. That is not us being modest — we buy at a
discount because we take on the repairs, the carrying costs and the risk.
We will tell you when that is your situation. It is a faster conversation for both of
us than pretending otherwise.
Why Lorain sellers call us
Most people who reach out are not shopping for the highest number — they are solving
something with a deadline attached. These pages cover what changes in each case:
A sale date does not have to mean a foreclosure on your record.
We buy through probate and can wait for the letters.
A clean date and a clean split of the proceeds.
Occupied is fine. You do not have to remove anyone first.
These get paid out of the proceeds at closing.
Fire, water, structural — we price it, you do not repair it.
Who you will be dealing with
Trevor McAmis
Owner & Acquisitions Lead, Restar Acquisitions. (313) 710-6129 · More about us
Every offer on this site is underwritten by a person, not a form. If the
numbers do not work for you, say so and I will tell you what would.
Other Ohio markets we buy in
We buy across Ohio, not just Lorain. Each of these has its own sale prices, ZIP breakdown and rent data published the same way:
Common questions from Lorain sellers
- There are unpaid water bills and code violations. Is that a problem?
- No. Water and sewer balances and code citations attach to the property and are paid out of the proceeds at closing. They are a normal line item for us and a deal-breaker for a lender.
- How fast can you close in Lorain?
- Typically 7-14 days once title is clear, because there is no lender underwriting. For comparison, the median Lorain listing in our records sits 32 days before it is even under contract, and closing runs another 30-45 days after that.
- The house has been vacant through a winter. Do you still want it?
- Yes. Frozen and burst pipes are one of the most common things we see, and the resulting water damage is exactly what removes retail buyers from the pool.
- What is the transfer tax when I sell a house in Ohio?
- $1 per $1,000 state conveyance fee plus a permissive county fee — about 0.4% of the price. Seller pays it under O.R.C. § 319.54(G)(3); O.R.C. § 322.02. Counties may add up to $3 per $1,000 on top of the $1 state fee, so the real total runs $1 to $4 per $1,000 depending on where the property sits. The figure used on this page is the $4 per $1,000 top of that range; your county auditor publishes the exact one. On a cash sale to us it comes out of our side of the settlement statement, not yours.
- Do I need an attorney to close in Ohio?
- No. Ohio closings are conducted by a title agency. No attorney is required, and the title agency is the party that clears liens and records the deed.
- What do I have to disclose when selling a house in Ohio?
- Ohio requires the Residential Property Disclosure Form on most one-to-four unit sales, delivered before you accept an offer. Estates, trusts and sheriff's sales are exempt. If the form arrives late the buyer gets a rescission right, so it is worth getting right the first time. The citation is O.R.C. § 5302.30. Selling as-is does not remove the obligation — it changes who pays for the repair, not whether you have to mention it.
- How much does it cost to sell a house in Lorain?
- On the median Lorain sale price of $174,202 in our recorded-sales data, the listing route runs roughly $15,762 once you add agent commission, transfer tax, title and settlement fees, buyer concessions and pre-listing repairs — around 9% of the sale price. A cash sale to us carries none of those five line items.
- What percentage of my home's value will a cash buyer offer?
- There is no fixed percentage, and any buyer quoting one before seeing the property is guessing. The offer is after-repair value, minus repairs, minus holding and resale costs, minus the buyer's margin. Repairs is the line that moves most: a house needing only cosmetics lands far higher than one needing a roof and mechanicals. Ask any buyer to walk you through all four lines on your specific property.
- Can I sell if I owe more than the house is worth?
- Sometimes, through a short sale, but that needs your lender's written approval and takes months rather than days. We will tell you on the first call if that is what you are looking at, rather than let you find out two weeks in.
- Can I really sell my house as-is?
- Yes. We buy in any condition — no repairs, no cleaning, no staging — and you can leave behind anything you do not want. As-is changes who pays for the work, not what you are required to disclose about it.
- What does a 'cash offer' actually mean?
- That the purchase is funded without a mortgage, so there is no lender, no appraisal and no financing contingency. That is the whole of the advantage: financing falling through is the most common reason a residential sale collapses, and it cannot happen on a cash purchase.
- How do I know your offer is fair?
- Check it against the recorded sales published on this page and against the four-line calculation above it. We show you the comps the number came from. If listing would net you more, we will say so — that conversation is faster for both of us than the alternative.
- What fees or commissions will I pay?
- None. There is no agent commission, no listing fee, and we cover standard closing costs. The number on the offer is what you net, minus any existing mortgage payoff or liens.
- Am I obligated to accept the offer?
- No. The offer is written, free, and yours to walk away from. We would rather you compare it against a listing than feel pushed into it.
- Written offer within 24 hours
- Any condition — no repairs, no cleaning
- No commissions; we cover standard closing costs
- You pick the closing date
Get my cash offer →
Takes about two minutes. Or call
(313) 710-6129 — we answer.
