Buying a Logan, Ohio Rental in 2026: What the Numbers Say

Sep 2

11 min read

Hocking Hills gorge, cave, or Logan civic landmark, no people in foreground. Wikimedia: HockingHillsAshCave.jpg

A Logan, Ohio short-term rental purchase should be underwritten on Logan numbers, not on a nearby city's numbers pasted into the wrong spreadsheet row. On an AirROI extract filed for the August 2025 through July 2026 window, typical listings in Logan earned about $52,213 last year from 783 active rentals. That figure, not a Columbus figure, is the starting line for a buyer packet on a Hocking Hills property.

Columbus listings earned about $22,498 last year from 2,536 active rentals on the same August 2025 through July 2026 extract. That is a separate city, a separate guest, and a separate file. A buyer comparing two Ohio markets should keep those two numbers on two different lines rather than blending them into one average that describes neither place accurately.

This page walks through what a Logan buyer packet should carry: the typical revenue figure, the average daily rate, occupancy, revenue per available room, the direction the market has moved year over year, and the registration questions a buyer still has to confirm before closing. None of the numbers below are estimates built for this page. They come from the same extract and should be treated as a starting point for due diligence, not a finished underwriting model.

Every figure that follows is labeled by the extract it came from, and every registration item that is still open is labeled as open rather than assumed closed. That distinction matters more in a 2026 purchase than it did a few years ago, because supply in Logan has grown faster than revenue in this sample, which means the buyers entering the market now are competing against more listings for the same guest demand than buyers who purchased a year or two earlier. This is not legal advice.

Logan's Typical Year, By The Numbers

The August 2025 through July 2026 AirROI extract puts typical Logan revenue at about $52,213 across 783 active listings. Average daily rate on that same extract runs about $390 a night, occupancy sits at about 40.1 percent, and revenue per available room works out to roughly $161. Those four figures belong together because they explain each other: a $390 nightly rate paired with 40.1 percent occupancy is what produces a $161 RevPAR, and that RevPAR times the days in a year is what produces the $52,213 typical annual figure.

A buyer running a proforma on a Hocking Hills property should start with this set of numbers rather than a national average or a neighboring city's figure. Peak months on the extract are August, October, and June, while February is the revenue hole. That means a buyer's cash flow model should expect a strong late-summer and early-fall stretch, a solid early-summer month, and a lean February that needs to be planned for rather than papered over.

Year over year, the extract shows revenue down about 8.2 percent while supply is up about 35.5 percent. That combination matters to a buyer: more listings have entered the Logan market at the same time revenue per listing has softened. It does not mean the market is closed to new entrants, but it does mean a 2026 buyer should underwrite against current, softer numbers rather than last year's headline figures, and should expect more competition for the same guest nights.

Why Columbus Doesn't Belong In This Spreadsheet

Columbus is about $22,498 typical annual revenue on 2,536 listings, on the same August 2025 through July 2026 window used for Logan. That is a different file, a different guest pool, and a different supply picture, and it should stay on its own line in any comparison document rather than being folded into a blended average. A buyer packet that lists Logan's $52,213 on 783 listings next to Columbus's $22,498 on 2,536 listings, clearly labeled, is doing its job. A packet that averages the two into a single 'Ohio STR' number is doing a disservice to whoever reads it next.

The practical reason to keep the two cities separate is that they draw different guests for different reasons. Logan's typical stay runs about 2.4 nights, and most guests arrive from Columbus, then Cincinnati, which tells a buyer that this is a short getaway market built around Hocking Hills recreation rather than a business-travel or extended-stay market. A rental in Logan should be underwritten as a short leisure stay with a roughly 2.4-night average length of stay, not modeled on assumptions that fit a larger metro market.

This also matters for named event weekends. The extract treats named event weekends as demand signals, not as occupancy data, which means a buyer should not assume a single busy weekend represents the market's typical performance. Underwriting on the annual typical-revenue figure, the ADR, and the occupancy rate together gives a more honest picture than pointing to one strong weekend and projecting it across fifty-two weeks.

Reading The Revenue Hole Correctly

February is the revenue hole in this sample, and a buyer should treat that as a planning input rather than a red flag. Every short-term rental market has a slower stretch, and a market that is honest about where its slow month falls is more useful to underwrite than a market where every month is presented as equally strong. A Logan buyer's proforma should show a visibly lower February, built around lower nightly rates, longer minimum stays, or simply a lower expected occupancy for that single month, rather than smoothing February into the same line as August.

It is worth separating two different things that can look similar on a calendar: a revenue hole and a 30-night minimum-stay setting. About 30.4 percent of Logan listings already run a 30-night minimum, and that setting can sit on the calendar in any month, including February, without actually representing occupied nights. A buyer reviewing comparable listings for a February estimate should check whether a comp's low apparent activity is a real revenue hole or simply a long minimum-stay filter blocking short bookings, since the two produce very different pictures of the same calendar month.

Registration Still Needs Confirming Before Closing

Logan sits in the City of Logan, and short-term rental licensing runs through city files rather than a county-only process. A buyer should confirm the remaining § 157.163 license requirements, remaining tourist-home spacing rules, and remaining Service Director files directly at cityoflogan.oh.gov before assuming a property qualifies for a license as-is. These items were still being confirmed as of this sample and should not be treated as settled without a direct check with the city.

If a buyer is comparing a Logan property against a property in a different Ohio city, two separate 2026 registration packets need to be filed, because city files do not transfer between jurisdictions. A property that already carries a valid license in one city tells a buyer nothing about whether a similar property in Logan will clear the same bar, since spacing rules, zoning district caps, and application review can differ by jurisdiction even within the same state.

A buyer packet built for a lender, a partner, or a personal underwriting file should carry the $52,213 typical revenue figure on 783 listings, a clear note that remaining city registration still needs confirming, and Columbus kept on its own separate line. That structure keeps the packet honest about what is confirmed, what still needs a phone call to the permit desk, and what belongs to a different city entirely.

What A 2026 Buyer Should Actually Underwrite

Start the proforma at $52,213 typical annual revenue on 783 active listings, not a rounder or more optimistic number pulled from a listing description or a seller's own claim. Build in the $390 ADR and 40.1 percent occupancy as the pair that produces the $161 RevPAR, rather than assuming either figure alone tells the story. A buyer who only looks at the $390 rate without the 40.1 percent occupancy is likely to overstate expected income, since a high rate paired with lower occupancy still produces a moderate RevPAR.

Plan the calendar around August, October, and June as the strongest months in this sample, and treat February as the month that needs a plan, whether that plan is a lower rate, a longer minimum stay, or simply an accepted lower month in the annual model. About 30.4 percent of Logan listings already run a 30-night minimum stay, which is worth knowing before assuming every property in the comps set is competing for the same short-stay guest that this market's 2.4-night typical stay describes.

Finally, keep the registration question open until it is actually closed. A buyer who assumes remaining 2026 licensing is a formality is taking on risk that belongs in the underwriting, not in a footnote. Confirm the license path, the zoning district, and the application timeline with the city before finalizing a purchase price built on the assumption that the property will operate as a licensed short-term rental starting on a specific date.

What The Extract Doesn't Tell A Buyer

This data set is useful precisely because it is limited: it shows typical revenue, ADR, occupancy, RevPAR, peak and hole months, guest origin, and length of stay across an actual sample of 783 listings, but it does not price a specific parcel, a specific house, or a specific renovation budget. A buyer should treat the $52,213 typical figure as a market-level anchor, then layer in the property's own bedroom count, proximity to Old Man's Cave and Ash Cave, parking, and condition before arriving at a property-specific revenue estimate.

The extract also does not resolve every registration detail. Some of the source material referencing Logan's short-term rental rules cites figures for a permit application fee, an annual license fee, and a cap on licenses within certain residential zoning districts, while other portions of the same research file explicitly note that a specific permit dollar amount was not confirmed for this pass. A buyer should not treat either version as final; confirm the current fee schedule, the zoning district cap, and the application process directly with the City of Logan permit desk before underwriting a specific fee into the proforma.

Similarly, some source material referenced a Brown County lodging-tax page alongside Hocking County citations for Logan's remaining lodging tax obligations. Since Logan sits in Hocking County, that Brown County reference reads as a contradiction in the source material rather than a confirmed second filing requirement, and a buyer should not assume a Brown County filing applies to a Logan property. Confirm the correct county lodging tax authority directly with Hocking County before closing.

Building The Actual Offer

An offer on a Logan short-term rental should rest on three separate legs: the market-level numbers from this sample, a property-specific revenue estimate built from comparable listings near the same trailhead access, and a confirmed registration path from the city permit desk. None of those three legs should be skipped in favor of a seller's pro forma alone, since a seller's projection is built to sell the property, not to underwrite it conservatively.

A buyer who wants a second opinion on the property-specific piece, the registration piece, or how the two fit together with a marketing plan for the listing itself has a reason to loop in a local marketing partner before closing rather than after. Getting the registration and the marketing questions answered before the purchase agreement is signed, rather than after move-in, tends to save the most time and the most money for a first-year Logan host.

It also helps to write down, in the offer file itself, exactly which numbers came from this sample and which numbers are estimates layered on top. A clean paper trail that separates '$52,213 typical revenue, 783 listings, August 2025 through July 2026 extract' from 'estimated property-specific revenue based on comparable listings near Old Man's Cave' keeps the underwriting honest for anyone who reviews the file later, including a lender, a co-investor, or the buyer's own future self reviewing the deal a year after closing.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need a Logan STR permit before I list a property I'm buying?

Yes. Logan sits in the City of Logan, and short-term rental licensing runs through city files under § 157.163. A buyer should confirm remaining license requirements, remaining tourist-home spacing rules, and remaining Service Director files directly at cityoflogan.oh.gov rather than assuming a property already qualifies. Because this sample does not carry every current fee and cap, treat any number you find elsewhere as unconfirmed until the city permit desk verifies it for the specific parcel you are buying.

What did a typical Logan short-term rental actually earn last year?

On the August 2025 through July 2026 AirROI extract, typical Logan listings earned about $52,213 across 783 active rentals. That figure pairs with an average daily rate near $390 and occupancy around 40.1 percent, which together produce a revenue per available room of roughly $161. A buyer underwriting a purchase should use this typical figure rather than a single strong month or a seller's optimistic projection as the anchor number.

How does Logan compare to Columbus for an STR buyer?

They are not comparable on the same line. Columbus listings earned about $22,498 typical annual revenue from 2,536 active rentals on the same extract window, against Logan's $52,213 on 783 listings. The two cities have different guest pools, different supply levels, and different registration processes, so a buyer packet should keep them as two clearly labeled figures rather than blending them into a single regional average.

Is the Logan STR market growing or shrinking?

Year over year, the extract shows Logan revenue down about 8.2 percent while supply is up about 35.5 percent. That means more listings have entered the market while typical revenue per listing has softened, which a 2026 buyer should factor into a conservative proforma. It does not mean the market is closed, but it does mean new supply is competing harder for the same guest nights than it was a year earlier.

Which months should a Logan buyer plan around?

Peak months in this sample are August, October, and June, and the revenue hole is February. A buyer's cash flow model should expect the strongest performance in those three peak months, plan for a lean February rather than assuming it performs like the rest of the year, and avoid projecting a single strong named-event weekend across the full calendar, since named events are demand signals, not occupancy data.

Where do Logan's short-term rental guests come from?

Most guests arrive from Columbus, then Cincinnati, with a typical stay of about 2.4 nights. That points to a short leisure getaway market tied to Hocking Hills recreation rather than a business-travel or extended-stay market. A buyer should underwrite length of stay and turnover costs around a roughly 2.4-night average rather than assuming a longer typical booking.

Does a 30-night minimum change how I should underwrite occupancy?

About 30.4 percent of Logan listings already run a 30-night minimum stay setting, but that setting is not the same thing as filled occupancy. A 30-night filter can sit on a calendar without producing 30 nights of actual bookings, so a buyer should not treat that percentage as a proxy for guaranteed occupancy. Underwrite from the 40.1 percent occupancy figure on the extract instead, and treat the minimum-stay setting as a separate operating decision.

Can I use the same registration packet if I also own a property in another Ohio city?

No. City files do not transfer between jurisdictions, so a buyer who operates in two cities needs to file two separate remaining-2026 registration packets. A license, spacing approval, or zoning clearance confirmed for a property in one city tells you nothing about whether a Logan property clears the same bar, since caps, spacing rules, and application review can differ even within the same state.

What should a lender-facing buyer packet for a Logan property include?

A solid packet carries the $52,213 typical revenue figure on 783 listings, the $390 ADR, the 40.1 percent occupancy rate, the $161 RevPAR, a clear note that remaining city registration still needs confirming at cityoflogan.oh.gov, and Columbus figures kept on a separate, clearly labeled line. That structure shows a lender what is confirmed by the extract, what is still pending confirmation with the city, and what belongs to a different market entirely.

Work with Crest & Cove Creative

Logan listings cleared about $52,213 typically last year on a 783-listing sample, a very different story than Columbus's $22,498 on the same window. See what a 2026 buyer packet should actually carry before an offer goes in.

Crest & Cove Creative builds host-facing buyer packets that keep Logan numbers on Logan and Columbus numbers on Columbus, so your underwriting file never blends two markets into one misleading average. Reach out and we'll walk your Hocking Hills purchase through the same extract data used on this page, plus the registration questions still open at the city permit desk.

Reach out at crestcove.co or (256) 998-7502.