Chicago Rent Bumps

My friends and I are seeing our rents increase 20%-40% in Chicago not including the months of free rent we received last year. If you include it it’s well north of 60%.

curious to see what other people in Chicago are witnesssing.

24 Comments
 

Deep dish pizza, amazing summers, luxury buildings for cheap, super HAWT big 10 girls, nightlife that is like almost 70% as good as a tier 1 city, Chicago is paradise

 

Probably the most tuned into the market currently.

I live in Chicago (west loop) and have been actively looking at commercial and residential.

Over the last 5 weeks there’s been a crazy bump of 30-50% pricing increase as well as the missing phantom bonus of free month(s) rent.

Average pricing being $1,700 (low) to $2,300ish (average) in areas like Logan and wicker park for those who want numbers, they’re not even rehabbed, and if they are it’s tacky.

After actively looking and collecting data points, there’s a shortage in the supply chain here especially for mid-range pricing and 1-2 bedrooms. I’m thinking this is due to people moving from lower tier cities in the Midwest to here.

There’s “some” value to be gained I’ve noticed in studios if you can go small ($1,000) and 3+ bedrooms if you got the budget and get crafty ($2,900+) if it helps anyone.

For commentary though, with prices being now LA almost, why would you stay here?

 

Ha, have you checked LA rents recently. If you want to live in a safe area it’s like $2100 even for a small studio in an old building.

Maybe it’s similar to downtown LA pricing but downtown LA is not a nice place to live

 

do you have any info on if the same rent bumps apply if you are resigning?

 

Short term leases are insane right now. I have been getting some quotes for a studio going at 6k. Just signed a studio for 2.4k unfurnished and think its a good deal. 

 

Honestly not really sure how Chicago apartments are getting away with charging these kinds of rents. Entire high rises filled with $3k per month one bedrooms? In my building 2 bedrooms start at like $5,000? I’m just not sure who’s filling that on the demand side.
 

I guess maybe the market to buy has been dried up so long that people are just riding it out in rentals? I always thought the fact $500k - $800k could buy you a nice place in Lincoln Park/Wicker Park/Lakeview kept a lid on these silly rents, but maybe that’s no longer the case.

 

It’s because noobs move to metro cities think #highriselife is the only way when they come here but fail to realize that Chicago isn’t a high rise kind of city. So they dish out $$$ to live in one.

You’re significantly better off in neighborhood and non-high rise buildings here.

Not just because of better pricing but overall quality of life.

You get subpar amenities, cheap/ugly materials used in the development building because the bar isn’t very high here for that, small floor plans and poor noise control. Also you get the fun factor of the high rise building management team telling you what you can and can’t do.

Sebastian junger in his book “Tribe” talk a lot about the psychological ramifications of living outside a community too and secluding yourself to a mid-rise high-rise environment vs living in a real community. Depression all day long.

 
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So I don’t entirely disagree, but I also don’t think it’s quite that cut and dry. As a PE associate I still have some bad weeks, and having a gym in my building along with a 15 minute door-to-door waking commute adds quite a bit to my quality of life in my opinion. I hear you on the apartment construction itself though; it’s pretty frustrating.

On good weeks do I wish I was up in Lincoln Park in a 2 bed on a quiet street? Sure. Honestly I spend most of my weekends up there anyway, and probably will move if I get a bit more senior.

So to say Chicago “isn’t a high rise city”? I mean sure, if you’re working 40-50 hours a week. But also it’s not like River North and Gold Coast are empty, and those “neighborhoods” are literally all high rises lol.

 

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