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.

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)

Sale days: Apr 1, 8, 15, 22, 29 plus additional mid-week dates Estimated April volume: 100 to 200 auctions Total sale days: 8 to 12

Franklin is Ohio's highest-volume county by a wide margin. With auctions running most business days, it's the closest thing to a daily marketplace. The pipeline currently holds over 3,100 active foreclosures, and filings are up 34.9% year over year.

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: Apr 6, 13, 20, 27 (every Monday) Estimated April volume: 50 to 100 auctions Avg properties per sale: 12 to 25

Cuyahoga's weekly Monday rhythm makes it easy to build a routine. Research over the weekend, bid Monday morning. When backlogs clear, individual Monday sales can push past 30 properties. Watch April 13 and 20 for mid-month volume spikes.

See Cuyahoga County recap data

Hamilton County (Cincinnati)

Sale days: Apr 8, Apr 22 (bi-weekly Wednesdays, 11 AM) Estimated April volume: 20 to 40 auctions Avg properties per sale: 10 to 20

Only two sale days in April. Miss one and you're waiting two weeks. Pre-sale due diligence is non-negotiable here. Filings are up 39.3% year over year, so expect inventory to stay elevated.

Hamilton County recap

Summit County (Akron)

Sale days: Every Tuesday (tax) and Friday (mortgage), 8 total Estimated April volume: 30 to 50 auctions

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: Every Friday (online, 9 AM) plus Apr 3 in-person tax sale Estimated April volume: 20 to 40 auctions

Montgomery is one of the few counties that still runs both online and in-person formats. The first Thursday tax sale (Apr 3) is in-person at the courthouse. Everything else runs online. Cross-reference the state portal with go.mcohio.org to catch properties that slip through.

Lucas County (Toledo)

Sale days: Apr 2, 9, 16, 23, 30 (every Thursday) Estimated April volume: 10 to 20 auctions

The big story. Lucas County went fully online on March 12, making April its first complete month on RealAuction. Established Toledo bidders who've been showing up in person for years haven't all made the switch yet. That creates a temporary competition gap. The pipeline holds 777 active foreclosures. Typical starting bids run $25K to $48K with ARVs in the $60K to $90K range, pointing to solid cash-flow plays in the 43605 corridor.

Stark County (Canton)

Sale days: Apr 7 (tax, 1st Tuesday); mortgage dates TBD Estimated April volume: 10 to 20 auctions

Stark is the sleeper. New foreclosure starts surged 190.9% in October 2025. Those filings take 150 to 210 days to reach sale, which puts them squarely in the April and May window. Combined with the $800M Kimberly-Clark facility bringing 500 jobs to the area, you're looking at rising demand meeting a wave of discounted inventory. Starting bids run $20K to $60K against ARVs of $150K to $225K. Widest spreads in the state.

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): Historically, the first few sale dates of the month see 5 to 10% lower winning bids. Courts are still processing Q1 orders, so inventory may be lighter, but competition is softer. Best window for value-focused buyers.

Mid-April (Week 3, Apr 13 to 17): The densest week. Cuyahoga, Franklin, Summit, Montgomery, and Lucas all have sales running. If you want maximum selection and can bid across multiple counties, this is your week. Statewide volume on heavy days can exceed 80 to 100 properties.

Late April (Weeks 4 and 5, Apr 20 to 30): Pipeline clearing as Q1 filings complete the sale process. Casual bidders tend to drop off after mid-month. 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 volume surge. That 190.9% spike in new starts means a wave of properties hitting sale over the next 60 days. Early movers get the widest spreads before competition catches up to the inventory.

Franklin County daily grind. With 100 to 200 auctions per month spread across 8 to 12 sale days, Columbus offers something almost every business day. Set up continuous monitoring 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, Columbus on Tuesday, Cincinnati on Wednesday, Toledo on Thursday. No windshield time. No scheduling conflicts. Just data and decisions.

AuctionScout tracks all 88 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.

Ohio April 2026 Sheriff Sale Calendar: Complete County-by-County Schedule