Chicago Apartment Rents On The Rise Along With Inflation
Despite all the bad news about inflation, rising interest rates and a roller-coaster stock market, not much has been said about the cloudy future of apartment rents in Chicago.
According to the national “February Rent Report” by ApartmentList.com, skyrocketing apartment rents is the next gloomy real estate story on the horizon for 2022.
Although Chicago apartment rents did not change in January, despite a nationwide increase of 0.2%, rent growth in the Windy City soared 15.6% in 2021 when the pandemic drove up prices rapidly, especially downtown.
The future is even more gloomy for landlords and renters when you calculate the property-tax increase time bomb that is ticking and set to explode with the second installment of the 2021 real estate tax bill this summer, analysts say.
Reassessment increases of 38% to 55% in Lincoln Park and Old Town are expected to send real estate tax bills soaring.
Median rents in Chicago now stand at $1,265 for a typical 1-bedroom unit and $1,395 for a 2-bedroom layout, ApartmentList.com reports.
Despite the increase, Chicago rents still are more affordable when compared with many other large cities. In San Francisco, the median rent on a 2-bedroom apartment is $2,681, up 15.6% in 2021. In New York City, renters pay $2,101 for the average apartment, up 35.5% from $1,575 a year earlier.
ApartmentList.com reports that there currently are 6,894 apartments listed for rent—including 2,800 one-bedroom units and 1,713 two-bedroom layouts—in such hot Windy City neighborhoods as the Gold Coast, Streeterville, Near East Side, West Loop, Lincoln Park, Lakeview, Edgewater, and Rogers Park.
Here is a sampling of the available lakefront and North Side units currently listed on www.ApartmentList.com:
Edgewater. At the Granville Apartments, 6230 N. Kenmore, 2-bedrooms with 850 square feet rent for $1,690, while 3-bedroom layouts with 1,100 square feet lease for $2,090. At Beachside Apartments, 5815 N. Sheridan, 1-bedroom units with 628 square feet rent for $1,491.
Lincoln Park. One-bedroom units with 671 square feet at The Kent, 2625 N. Clark, rent for $2,144.
Logan Square. Noca Blu Apartments, 2340 N. California, offers a mix of 1-bedroom units with 471 square feet at $1,680, and 2-bedroom layouts with 862 square feet at $2,835.
Luxury apartment hunters with fat wallets have a wide choice of units in the trendy Gold Coast, Streeterville, and downtown, reports ApartmentList.com:
Gold Coast. Chestnut Tower Apartments, 121 W. Chestnut, offers studios with 540 square feet for $1,763. One-bedroom units with 615 square feet go for $2,224, and 2-bedroom layouts with 1,100 square feet lease for $3,418. At 850 N. Lake Shore Dr., 1-bedroom units with 1,031 square feet rent for $2,706, while 2-bedroom layouts with 1,432 square feet go for $3,792.
Streeterville. Lake Shore Plaza, 445 E. Ohio, offers 590-square-foot studios for $1,550. One-bedroom units with 650 square feet go for $1,525.
Near East Side. At the Shoreham & Tides, 400 E. South Water, studios with 670 square feet rent for $1,800. One-bedroom units with 730 square feet go for $1,945, while 2-bedroom layouts with 1,185 square feet lease for $2,680. At Cascade, 445 E. Waterside, studios with 509 square feet rent for $2,114. One-bedroom units with 588 square feet go for $2,361, and 2-bedroom deluxe layouts with 1,044 square feet lease for $3,949.
West Loop. In the University Village development near the Little Italy enclave, studios with 581 square feet rent for $2,060. One-bedroom units with 599 square feet go for $2,410, and 2-bedroom layouts with 1,248 square feet lease of $4,480.
If these rental quotes sound high, better grab the best deal you can and sign a two-year lease. Reality says apartment rents are going up in Chicago, and there’s not much we can do about it.
One alternative is move to Milwaukee, WI, where rents only rose 8.2% in 2021. Median rent on 1-bedroom units is $807, and 2-bedroom layouts lease for $992.
For more housing news, visit www.dondebat.biz. Don DeBat is co-author of “Escaping Condo Jail,” the ultimate survival guide for condominium living. Visit www.escapingcondojail.com.
