SCR - Market Insights

March 2026 Multifamily Market Report - Licking County

Hello, My name is Brad Shumaker. This is the third monthly report on the multifamily sales environment in Licking County. I will continue reporting monthy throughout 2026. My goal is to inform interested parties of the MF segment of real estate as Licking County continues to grow. Please contact me with questions and comments.

March 2026 Multifamily Market Report – Licking County

Residential (1–4 Units) & Commercial (5+ Units) Activity

1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

   Licking County recorded eight multifamily (MF) sales in March 2026. Of those eight transactions, two were valid arm’s-length sales and six were non-valid. Consistent with reporting standards pricing conclusions in this report are based primarily on valid transactions, while non-valid transfers are still acknowledged for completeness.

   March activity was a small-property residential month, not a commercial multifamily month. The recorded March sales contained four duplex transfers, one triplex transfer, and three 4-unit transfers. No 5+ unit commercial multifamily sales were recorded in March, and no mixed-use “Retail & Apts Over” sales were recorded.

   Valid sale volume totaled $920,000, driven by one valid duplex sale in Newark at $140,000 and two valid quad transfers in Heath totaling $780,000. On that basis, the March valid average sale price was $460,000, and the valid average price per unit was approximately $92,000 across ten valid units. Those figures indicate that March pricing strength came from the Heath quad cluster, while the rest of the month’s activity skewed toward non-market or non-arm’s-length transfers.

   From a broader market standpoint, this local transaction pattern fits a regional backdrop in which Columbus-area multifamily remains active from a development standpoint but is facing a more selective capital environment. Colliers’ Q4 2025 Columbus update described the Columbus Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) as a still-active development market supported by growth expectations, while Marcus & Millichap’s 2026 Columbus forecast noted that major corporate expansions continue to support renter demand even as near-term delivery and vacancy pressures remain relevant. At the national level, CRE Daily reported higher multifamily delinquencies and permitting trends that point to a more uneven operating environment in 2026.

2. SCRE MARKET SNAPSHOT — MARCH 2026

   Licking County Multifamily Activity
   Total MF Sales: 8
   Valid Sales: 2
   % Valid: 25.0%
   Total Dollar Volume (Valid): $920,000
   Average Price (Valid): $460,000
   Average Price Per Unit (Valid): $92,000
   Highest Valid Sale: $390,000 (Heath)
   Lowest Valid Sale: $140,000 (Newark)

   Residential (1–4 Units)
   Total Sales: 8
   Residential Composition: 4 duplex, 1 triplex, 3 quads
   Residential Trend: Quad-led volume concentration in Heath

   Commercial (5+ Units)
   Total Sales: 0
   Activity Level: No commercial multifamily transfers in March

   Interpretation / Context
   March 2026 multifamily activity in Licking County was limited in count and concentrated in smaller-format residential assets, with valid pricing support coming almost entirely from Heath quad transfers and one Newark duplex sale. Regional context remains constructive over the medium term because Columbus-area growth drivers are still in place, but underwriting conditions remain selective as supply pressure and capital market stress continue to shape investor behavior.

3. LICKING COUNTY MULTIFAMILY SALES OVERVIEW

   The March 2026 Auditor’s report contained eight multifamily transactions. The report shows four duplex transfers, one triplex transfer, and three 4-unit transfers sourced from the county’s “Apts - 4 to 19 rental units” file and reclassified as quads for reporting purposes. This means the month’s entire traditional multifamily activity fell into the residential 1–4 unit segment, with no commercial 5+ multifamily transactions loaded for the month.

   Just two transactions were valid sales, while the remaining six were non-valid. March does not read as a broad-based pricing month for Licking County multifamily; instead, it reads as a thin transaction month with one localized pricing pocket in Heath and scattered non-arm’s-length activity elsewhere.

   3.1 RESIDENTIAL MULTIFAMILY (1–4 UNITS)
   

   Residential multifamily accounted for all March traditional multifamily activity. The city callouts show the clearest concentration in Heath, where three quad transfers totaled $780,000, with two of those transfers valid. Newark posted two duplex transfers, including one valid $140,000 sale and one non-valid $221,000 transfer. Pataskala and Johnstown each posted one duplex transfer, both non-valid, while Thornville recorded one non-valid triplex transfer.
   That pattern suggests March demand was not broadly distributed across Licking County. Instead, valid dollar volume was concentrated in a small number of Heath quad transfers, while other communities contributed more to transaction count than to actionable pricing evidence. From a brokerage perspective, that is a meaningful distinction: March was a month where recorded activity exceeded reliable pricing evidence.
   The valid pricing evidence that does exist is still useful. The two valid Heath quad transfers at $390,000 each imply a consistent $97,500 per unit for those quads, while the valid Newark duplex sale at $140,000 implies $70,000 per unit. That spread reinforces the idea that well-located small multifamily product in stronger submarkets can still price materially above smaller or less competitive assets, even in a month with limited valid volume overall.

   3.2 COMMERCIAL MULTIFAMILY (5+ UNITS)

   No commercial multifamily sales were made in March 2026. The March summary leaves the 5+ unit categories empty. Only the three county-coded 4–19 unit properties that were treated as quads here were valid sales.
   That does not necessarily indicate a weak larger-asset market on its own, it does mean March provides no direct commercial multifamily pricing signal for Licking County. For this issue, the commercial takeaway is therefore not valuation-driven; it is simply that market evidence was absent in the March upload set.

   3.3 HIGHEST / LOWEST SALES – REPORTING PERIOD

   Among the valid transactions, the highest sale was a $390,000 quad transfer in Heath, and that price point appeared twice in the March. The lowest valid sale was the $140,000 duplex transfer in Newark.
   If you choose to reference all recorded transfers rather than only valid sales in this section, the March sales also includes a $455,000 duplex transfer in Johnstown, but it was marked non-valid and should not be treated as a market pricing benchmark. Likewise, several recorded transfers carried $0 consideration, including the Thornville triplex transfer and one Heath quad transfer, which is why valid-sale framing remains the cleaner analytical standard for the narrative.

4. KEY OBSERVATIONS

   March was a thin but readable month for Licking County multifamily sales. The month produced enough data to identify a live pricing pocket in Heath and at least one market-supported duplex sale in Newark, but not enough valid breadth to claim a countywide pricing trend with confidence. The larger lesson is that transaction count alone overstated market clarity in March. Eight traditional multifamily transfers were recorded by the Auditor, but only two provided valid arm’s-length pricing support.

   The March sales also reinforces the value of your Licking County-specific quad treatment. Because the county’s 4-unit properties were captured inside the broader “Apts - 4 to 19 rental units” file, leaving them in that bucket would have overstated commercial multifamily activity and understated the true residential 1–4 market.

   Regionally, the market backdrop remains mixed rather than weak. Columbus continues to benefit from major long-term growth drivers, but the multifamily market is also working through supply, vacancy, and capital-market friction. That means local investors can still find opportunities in smaller assets, yet the environment favors selectivity, basis discipline, and property-level underwriting over broad optimism.

5. WHAT TO WATCH NEXT

   Watch whether March’s Heath concentration proves to be the start of a more active East-Central Licking County small-multifamily pattern or simply a one-month cluster. The March dashboard already identifies Heath as the month’s dominant volume node, and local development discussion around Central Park supports keeping Heath on the watch list for future residential supply and mixed-use influence.

   Also watch whether April brings any actual 5+ unit commercial multifamily trades into the Licking County dataset. March offered no direct commercial multifamily comps, so the next month with even a single valid 5+ unit sale will materially improve the county’s pricing read on that segment.

   Finally, keep watching the Columbus MSA supply and capital-markets picture. The regional development story still supports long-term renter demand, but broader multifamily stress indicators and permitting data suggest that 2026 remains a market where local growth and national caution are happening at the same time. That is a constructive setup for disciplined operators, but not a month to write with complacency.