Bexley, OH · Franklin County · 2026
Downsizing in Bexley: what do the numbers actually say?
Before you decide to keep carrying the home you're in, see the full picture: property tax, insurance, maintenance, and what a smaller footprint on Main Street actually costs against the house you already own.
The Bexley picture
A home that's grown past what you need it for
Bexley's median home value sits at roughly $573,000 as of March 2026, up 3.0% over the past year (Zillow Home Value Index), among the higher figures in Franklin County. That's real, growing equity for anyone who owns here. It's also a real, growing carrying cost for anyone whose home has more square footage than their daily life actually uses.
Walk the numbers on a $575,000 Bexley home: property tax alone runs close to $900 a month at the rates Bexley's locally funded schools carry, toward the top of Franklin County's 1.4% to 2% effective range. Add roughly $250 a month for homeowner's insurance, in a state where premiums have climbed about 47% over the past five years, and a 1% annual maintenance reserve adds another $480. That's nearly $1,650 a month before a single mortgage payment is factored in, on a home that may be carrying two or three bedrooms nobody's used in years.
None of this is an argument that Bexley real estate is a bad place to have money. It's that the size of the investment and the size of the life it's funding can drift apart quietly, one property tax bill at a time, and it's worth knowing exactly what that gap costs before assuming it's simply the price of staying put.
Run your own numbers
Staying vs. downsizing to The Fitzgerald Bexley
Your home, your inputs
Adjust any slider to matchyour situation
Estimates only. Nothing on this page is financial, tax, or legal advice, or a recommendation to sell, stay, or rent. Staying assumes your remaining mortgage balance amortizes as a standard 30-year loan at the entered rate, a simplification of whatever your actual loan terms are; a 1.9% effective Franklin County / Bexley property tax rate; a $3,000/yr homeowner's insurance estimate scaled to a higher-value Bexley home; and a 1% annual maintenance reserve, which is an average, not a guarantee against a bad year of roof or HVAC repairs. Figures exclude selling costs (agent commissions typically 5–6%, staging, repairs to sell). Renter is responsible for utilities in addition to rent. Depending on the floor plan you compare, downsizing to The Fitzgerald runs roughly $250 to $1,175 a month below the carrying cost of a $575,000 Bexley home with a $150,000 mortgage balance, with a 3-bedroom rental as the one exception that costs more than staying, which is worth noticing if you don't need that much space to begin with. Individual results vary. Consult a qualified financial, tax, or real estate professional before making any decision. Rates and availability subject to change.
Why residents choose to downsize
Six reasons the math favors a smaller footprint
Unlock the equity sitting in your walls.
Bexley's median home value is roughly $573,000, up 3% in the past year alone (Zillow). Selling turns that value into cash you control, rather than more square footage to insure, tax, and repair for years to come.
Insurance climbs faster on bigger homes.
Ohio homeowner's insurance has risen roughly 47% over the past five years, and every carrier's premium scales up with dwelling coverage. A $575,000 home carries real, rising insurance exposure that a rented apartment simply doesn't.
Property tax follows the square footage.
Franklin County's effective property tax rate runs from about 1.4% to 2%, and Bexley's locally funded schools push it toward the top of that range. On a $575,000 home, that's $900 or more a month before anything else. Rent carries no separate tax bill.
Big repairs don't wait for a good year.
Roofs, HVAC systems, and water heaters wear out on their own schedule, and any one of them can run several thousand dollars at once. The 1% annual maintenance reserve used in the calculator above is an average across many years, not protection against a single bad one.
The upkeep becomes one phone call.
Lawn care, gutters, snow, and the long list of small repairs that come with owning a house become a single call to the leasing office instead of a Saturday. On-site maintenance and a secure parking garage cover what a yard and a driveway used to demand.
Right-size without losing what made the house work.
Studio through 3-bedroom homes at The Fitzgerald start at $1,422, with Main Street's 84 Walk Score, Capital University next door, and a rooftop terrace, fitness center, and clubhouse in place of a yard and bedrooms that had gone unused.
Head to head
Staying vs. The Fitzgerald: category by category
Beyond the monthly number, the decision comes down to concrete trade-offs: who handles the repairs, what's included, how much flexibility you keep, and where the risk sits. The table below is not a clean sweep. Staying genuinely wins on a couple of these, which is the point of looking honestly at both sides.
| Category | The Fitzgerald Bexley: Renting | Staying in Your Current Home |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly carrying cost | $1,422–$3,885 depending on floor plan | ~$2,600/mo on a $575K home with a $150K balance |
| Maintenance & repairs | ✓ Handled by our team | ✗ Your time, your money |
| Property tax obligation | ✓ Not your bill | ✗ ~1.9% of home value annually |
| Insurance obligation | ✓ Not your bill | ✗ Rising with home value and state trends |
| Big-ticket repair risk | ✓ None | ✗ Roof, HVAC, water heater, on your dime |
| Home equity | Converts to cash at closing | ✓ Continues building, tied up in the house |
| Daily walkability | ✓ 84 Walk Score, Main Street on foot | Depends entirely on your current address |
| On-site amenities | ✓ Rooftop terrace, fitness center, clubhouse | Whatever you built or paid for yourself |
| Flexibility to relocate | ✓ Lease terms | ✗ Months to sell, agent commissions |
| Market risk exposure | ✓ None | ✗ Full equity risk tied to one asset |
Staying keeps building equity in an appreciating market, and that's a genuine advantage worth naming. What it doesn't do is lower the monthly bill, reduce the repair risk, or hand back the time that upkeep takes. For anyone whose home has outgrown its daily use, that trade is worth running the numbers on.
Give up the square footage you don't use. Keep the Main Street you love.
Common questions
Frequently asked about downsizing in Bexley
Is it better to downsize or stay in my home in Bexley in 2026?
For homeowners whose current home has more space than their daily life uses, downsizing is often the stronger financial move once every carrying cost is counted, not just the mortgage payment. On a $575,000 Bexley home with a $150,000 remaining balance, property tax, insurance, maintenance, and P&I together run roughly $2,600 a month, well above what a one- or two-bedroom rental costs at a community like The Fitzgerald.
That said, staying keeps your equity growing in a market that's appreciated 3% in the past year, and selling carries its own costs, typically 5 to 6% in agent commissions plus any repairs needed to list. The right answer depends on how much of your home you're actually using, and how much you value getting that money and that time back now versus later.
What is the average home value in Bexley, Ohio?
As of March 2026, the Zillow Home Value Index puts Bexley's median home value at roughly $573,000, up 3.0% over the past year, among the higher figures in Franklin County. Actively listed homes often show higher median prices, since listings skew toward larger, recently updated properties.
The listed or appraised value isn't the full cost of staying. Property tax on a home that size runs close to $900 a month at Bexley's effective rate, and insurance and maintenance add several hundred more, before any remaining mortgage payment.
Is now a good time to sell a home in Bexley?
It depends on your time horizon and how much of your current home you're using day to day. Bexley homes have sold quickly and at prices at or above asking in recent months, which favors sellers, and median values are still climbing. That's a genuinely good backdrop for listing.
For anyone carrying square footage, a yard, or bedrooms that go unused most of the year, the market's current strength is exactly what makes this a reasonable window to convert that equity into cash rather than waiting through another maintenance cycle.
What does downsizing to an apartment actually save you?
The savings show up in the costs that owning adds beyond the mortgage: property tax, homeowner's insurance, a maintenance reserve, and the unpredictable big-ticket repairs that a smooth annual estimate can't capture. Renting at a managed community removes all of those from your monthly bill and your to-do list.
The exact number depends on your home's value and which floor plan you compare it to. On a $575,000 Bexley home with a modest remaining mortgage balance, the gap runs from roughly $250 a month for a two-bedroom rental up to nearly $1,175 a month for a studio, with the savings shrinking, or reversing, for a rented three-bedroom, which usually signals you don't need that much space to begin with.
How does renting at The Fitzgerald Bexley compare to staying in a typical Bexley home?
The most direct comparison is monthly cost. Staying in a $575,000 Bexley home with a $150,000 remaining mortgage balance runs roughly $2,600 a month once property tax, insurance, and maintenance are included. The Fitzgerald's studio, one-, and two-bedroom homes start at $1,422, $1,532, and $2,340, putting most floor plans several hundred to over a thousand dollars a month below that carrying cost.
Beyond the monthly number, The Fitzgerald sits directly on Bexley's Main Street, an 84 Walk Score corridor of more than 100 shops and restaurants, with a rooftop terrace, fitness center, resident clubhouse, and secure parking garage included, replacing a yard and unused bedrooms with amenities and a walkable block.
See it before you decide
Bring your numbers. We'll show you the home.
Tour our studio, one-, two-, and three-bedroom homes on Main Street. No pressure, just an honest look at what a smaller footprint actually feels like.