Sell Your Commercial Property In Parma, OH

Who rents in Parma

Parma, on Cleveland's southern border, has 79,870 residents in the ACS 2020–2024 estimates. It is mainly a city of owners: 24,820 of 34,287 occupied homes are owner-occupied, and 9,467, or 27.6%, are rented. The median household income of $69,295 is far above Cleveland's $40,801, and rent burden is lower as a result. In Parma, 3,838 renter households, 40.5%, spend 30% or more of income on rent, and 1,720 (18.2%) spend half or more, compared with 47.9% and 25.2% in Cleveland.

Parma renters work across the Cleveland economy. The largest employer in that economy, Cleveland Clinic, reports 83,000 caregivers systemwide and 23 hospitals. Cuyahoga Community College's Western Campus is also in the city, at 11000 W. Pleasant Valley Road, the site the county used for one of its 2024 reappraisal sessions.

Rents and affordability

Parma's median gross rent is $1,087 including utilities, $142 above Cleveland's. HUD sets Parma's voucher payment standards through the Cleveland metro's FY2026 Fair Market Rents:

Because the FMR is a metro figure, it is the same in Parma as in lower-rent parts of Cleveland. For a Parma owner, the two-bedroom FMR of $1,279 sits about $190 above the city's median gross rent, which gives voucher units and turnover units some room.

The apartment stock

Parma was built out after the war, with a median year built of 1958. Of 36,157 housing units, 27,903 are single-family detached. Small multifamily is rare: only 1,256 units are in duplexes and 259 in three- and four-unit buildings, a sharp contrast with Cleveland's 29,115 duplex units.

The rental stock is concentrated in apartment buildings. There are 1,285 units in buildings of five to nine units, 1,528 in buildings of 10 to 19, 452 in buildings of 20 to 49, and 2,325 in complexes of 50 or more. Together that is 5,590 units, 15.5% of all housing. With so few small rentals, a five-plus building is a large share of what is available to renters in Parma, Parma Heights and Seven Hills, and buyers have fewer small-building comparisons to work from. The 2,325 units in complexes of 50 or more alone make up 6.4% of the city's housing, more than all of Parma's duplexes and three- and four-unit buildings combined.

Property taxes on apartment buildings

The Cuyahoga County Fiscal Officer sets market value, and Ohio taxes 35% of it. Apartments with four or more units are commercial property under Ohio's land-use codes, so the 10% rollback for homes does not apply. The County Treasurer's rate chart for tax year 2025, due in 2026, shows how Parma compares with its neighbors:

• Parma: voted rate 100.47 mills; commercial effective 72.94 mills, or 2.55% of market value; residential 1.77%.
• Parma Heights: commercial effective 76.28 mills, or 2.67% of market value.
• Seven Hills: commercial effective 77.45 mills, or 2.71%.
• North Royalton: commercial effective 67.36 mills, or 2.36%.
• Cleveland: commercial effective 103.44 mills, or 3.62%.

On a building with a $1.5 million county value, Parma's rate works out to about $38,250 a year, against about $54,300 at Cleveland's rate. Buyers comparing west-side buildings will see that difference in net income. Inside Parma itself, the commercial rate runs 16.21 mills above the residential rate of 56.73, the cost of Ohio's commercial classification for apartments.

Values reset on Ohio's six-year reappraisal and three-year update cycle. Cuyahoga County's 2024 sexennial reappraisal proposed an average 32% increase in home values countywide. Owners can file Board of Revision complaints from January through March under ORC 5715.19; since March 2026, school boards may only file counter-complaints rather than start their own challenges after a sale.

Landlord rules and local compliance

• Rent control: ORC 5321.19 bars Ohio cities from rent control.
• City registration: Parma's fee schedule lists an annual rental registration fee for one- and two-family houses, with a $50 per month late fee and possible court costs for non-payment. Owners of larger buildings should confirm what the city requires for their property.
• County registration: Ohio requires rental owners to file contact details with the county and update them within 60 days (ORC 5323.02).
• Deposits: under ORC 5321.16, the part of a deposit above the greater of $50 or one month's rent earns 5% interest after six months, and itemized deductions are due within 30 days.
• Transfer: the county lists a conveyance fee of $4 per $1,000 of price plus $0.50, about $6,000 on a $1.5 million sale.

What this means if you own a building here

Parma offers buyers a useful combination: household incomes near $70,000, a commercial tax rate about a point below Cleveland's, and little small-building competition. Buyers will still underwrite to the post-reappraisal tax bill and trailing net operating income, so a current rent roll and recent expense history help.

Skyline buys 5+ unit buildings in Parma, Parma Heights, Seven Hills, North Royalton and Brooklyn. Try the cap rate calculator to see how the tax difference moves value, or start at sell my apartment building.