Updated October 2026 with recorded results from AuctionScout data.
April 2026 is the first month in Ohio history where all 88 counties run sheriff sales online simultaneously. Lucas County completed the statewide transition to RealAuction on March 12, making the ohio sheriff sale calendar april 2026 unlike anything investors have seen before. Every county. Every auction. One platform.
That matters because geographic arbitrage just got real. You can now bid on properties in Toledo, Canton, and Cincinnati from the same laptop in the same afternoon. No courtroom steps, no driving three hours for a single sale. How the statewide online system works is worth reading once before you register, and which counties actually reward the effort is worth revisiting every quarter.
Here's the full schedule for Ohio's top counties, plus timing strategies that give you an edge.
County-by-County April 2026 Schedule
All auctions run on each county's RealAuction portal. Registration is per-county and must be completed before sale day. Here are the direct links for every county covered in this guide:
- Franklin County (Columbus)
- Cuyahoga County (Cleveland)
- Hamilton County (Cincinnati)
- Summit County (Akron)
- Montgomery County (Dayton)
- Lucas County (Toledo)
- Stark County (Canton)
Franklin County (Columbus)
Sale days: Fridays (April 3, 10, 17 and 24 in 2026) April 2026 actual: 41 lots on 4 sale dates (AuctionScout data, as of October 2026)
Franklin is one of Ohio's larger sheriff sale counties, though well behind Cuyahoga (455 lots in April 2026).
If you're only watching one county, this is the one. Note: Franklin is the exception on deposits. The plaintiff's attorney sets the deposit amount, not the statutory tiers.
Cuyahoga County (Cleveland)
Sale days: Mondays and Wednesdays (8 dates from April 1 to 27 in 2026) April 2026 actual: 455 lots on 8 sale dates
Cuyahoga's twice-weekly rhythm makes it easy to build a routine. Research over the weekend, bid Monday or Wednesday. In April 2026 a single Cuyahoga sale date carried as many as 120 lots.
See Cuyahoga County recap data
Hamilton County (Cincinnati)
Sale days: Apr 8, Apr 22 (bi-weekly Wednesdays, 11 AM) April 2026 actual: 21 lots on 2 sale dates
Only two sale days in April. Miss one and you're waiting two weeks. Pre-sale due diligence is non-negotiable here. Hamilton listed 21 lots in April 2026.
Summit County (Akron)
Sale days: Tuesdays and Fridays (5 dates in April 2026: April 3, 7, 10, 17 and 21) April 2026 actual: 22 lots on 5 sale dates
Summit splits mortgage foreclosures (Fridays at 10 AM) from tax foreclosures (Tuesdays at 10 AM). Different risk profiles on each. Tax sales often have better price spreads but more title complexity.
Montgomery County (Dayton)
Sale days: Fridays, online at 9 AM (April 3, 10, 17 and 24 in 2026) April 2026 actual: 28 lots on 4 sale dates
Montgomery's sheriff sales run online on Fridays. Tax sales can follow a separate schedule, so cross-reference the state portal with go.mcohio.org to catch properties that slip through.
Lucas County (Toledo)
Sale days: April 1, 8, 9, 15, 23 and 29 in 2026 April 2026 actual: 48 lots on 6 sale dates
The big story. Lucas County moved its sheriff sales online to RealAuction in 2026.
Stark County (Canton)
Sale days: Mondays (April 6, 13, 20 and 27 in 2026) April 2026 actual: 15 lots on 4 sale dates
Stark is the sleeper. Its sheriff sale volume stays modest: 15 lots in April 2026 and 49 in all of Q2 (AuctionScout data, as of October 2026).
Volume Intelligence: Which Weeks to Target
Not all weeks are equal. Here's how April breaks down:
Early April (Weeks 1 and 2, Apr 1 to 10): In 2026 this was the busiest stretch of the month. The week of April 6 had 316 Ohio lots, the busiest week of April 2026. Best window if you want selection.
Mid-April (Week 3, Apr 13 to 17): Several of the large counties have sales running, so this is a good week to bid across counties. The week of April 13, 2026 had 167 Ohio lots.
Late April (Weeks 4 and 5, Apr 20 to 30): The weeks of April 20 and 27, 2026 had 185 and 156 Ohio lots. Properties that didn't sell in earlier rounds may relist without the two-thirds minimum bid requirement, opening up deeper discounts on second offerings.
Registration and Deposit Requirements
Every auction runs on RealAuction at sheriffsaleauction.ohio.gov. You need separate registration for each county where you plan to bid.
Deposit tiers per ORC 2329.211:
Franklin County is the exception: the plaintiff's attorney sets the deposit, not the statutory schedule.
Timing: Wire transfers must arrive 2 business days before sale. ACH transfers need 5 business days. The proxy bid window opens 7 or more days before each sale, so early bids are possible.
First sale minimum: Ohio law (ORC 2329.20) requires properties sell for at least two-thirds of appraised value on the first offering. If nobody meets that threshold, the property can relist at a lower minimum. Track relistings for the best deals.
Strategic Plays for April 2026
Lucas County first-mover window. April is month one of online-only sales in Toledo. If you register now and start bidding while local investors are still figuring out the platform, you get a head start that won't last forever. By summer, everyone will have adapted.
Stark County demand. Stark listed 46 lots in Q1 2026 and 49 in Q2, so the story is new jobs on the demand side rather than a wave of inventory. Investors who know the local market have time to pick carefully.
Franklin County pipeline. Franklin listed 41 lots on 4 sale dates in April 2026, and 146 in all of Q2 2026. Set up a saved search with alerts and treat it like a recurring pipeline.
The statewide play. For the first time, you can run a multi-county strategy entirely online. Bid in Cleveland on Monday, Cincinnati on Wednesday, Toledo on Thursday, Columbus on Friday. No windshield time. No scheduling conflicts. Just data and decisions.
AuctionScout tracks Ohio county auction schedules automatically. Start your free 14-day trial to see which properties are coming to auction in your target counties. Takes about 30 seconds to set up.