Cincinnati tool to help renters find housing shows promise

A sign says "Free Housing Fair," and is positioned on a brick walkway lined with trees and flowers.
Renters say one of the biggest challenges is finding a desirable apartment they can afford.

Written and edited by

Ann Thompson

A Cincinnati sponsored website aids renters as they look for new housing. City Wise Software has partnered with the city to find, show and rate listings that people might not otherwise come across on traditional platforms. The company promoted the resource at a Washington Park housing fair on June 27.

The goal of apartments.cincinnati-oh.gov, according to City Wise COO Jeremy Schmidt, is to “build a website where anybody who is looking for housing can access it and find what they are looking for.”

He says the company vets everybody and users can be confident the info is accurate. Not only can people find small, midsize and large market rate apartments but also listings that are affordable with income restrictions.

“The goal is really to reach a wide variety of people. Previously people thought a city website would only be for affordable housing.” Schmidt says, “We’re trying to branch out a little bit and help people especially that aren’t in the income restricted area but are still looking for something more reasonably priced.”

The website has been up since December and City Wise Software says 35,000 people have used it.

T.J. Helman comes to Washington Park to walk her dog and really enjoys being downtown.

Seventy-four-year-old T.J. Helman knows how hard it can be to find housing on a fixed income. She was adamant about living downtown and had to wait months until the housing she wanted was renovated.

“What I really like about apartment living is you are never alone, they’re (neighbors) are checking on you. When you get old, being alone is really boring,” she says.

At times Crystal Gangwish gets discouraged when looking for a place of her own.

Crystal Gangwish came to the housing fair in search of something affordable. She says the price of rent is ridiculous. “It’s very difficult to find places because we’re the type of people who are on disability and when you are on disability, you’re not going to have three times the amount of income that they are requiring.”

Creator of the website, City Wise Software, is also on the lookout for nationwide housing solutions. In the 30 cities it serves, Jeremy Schmidt sees people doing good things. One is in Louisville where there’s an effort to incentivize property managers to serve the unhoused in their vacant apartments.

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Ann Thompson – Host, Producer

Over the last thirty years in Cincinnati, Ann Thompson has brought a wealth of knowledge and expertise to her reporting. She has reported and anchored for WVXU, WKRC, WCKY, WHIO-TV and Metro Networks and freelanced for NPR, CBS and ABC Radio. Her work has been recognized by the Associated Press and she has won awards from the Association of Women in Communications and the Alliance for Women in Media. She is a former News Director and Operations Manager. Ann has reported from India, Japan, South Korea, Germany and Belgium as part of fellowships. Ann thinks of the Brick by Brick project as “journalism for good.” She serves as host and producer. Ann lives in Anderson Township with her husband Scott. They have two boys. Jake graduated from the Air Force Academy in 2022 and Kurt attends West Point.