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(Above) Kitchen of unit for rent at Beachside Apartments, which overlooks Osterman Beach north of the Loop. Average rents increased 0.2 percent nationwide in 2021, but in Chicago, they were up 15.6 percent. Still better than in New York and San Francisco.
29-Jan-22 – 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. But according to the national February Rent Report by Apartment List, 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 percent, rent growth in the Windy City soared 15.6 percent 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 percent in Lincoln Park and Old Town are expected to send real estate tax bills soaring.
Despite the increase, Chicago rents still are more affordable when compared with many other large cities. In San Francisco, the median rent on a two-bedroom apartment is $2,681, up 15.6 percent in 2021. In New York, renters pay $2,101 for the average apartment, up 35.5 percent from $1,575 a year earlier. Apartment List reports 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 Edgewater, Gold Coast, Lakeview, Lincoln Park, Near East Side, Rogers Park, Streeterville, and West Loop. Here is a sampling of the available lakefront and North Side units currently listed on Apartment List: • Edgewater. At Granville Apartments, 6230 North Kenmore Avenue, two-bedrooms with 850 square feet rent for $1,690, while three-bedroom layouts with 1,100 square feet lease for $2,090. At Beachside Apartments, 5815 North Sheridan Road, one-bedroom units with 628 square feet rent for $1,491. • Lincoln Park. One-bedroom units with 671 square feet at The Kent, 2625 North Clark Street, rent for $2,144.
Luxury apartment hunters with fat wallets have a wide choice of units in trendy Gold Coast, Streeterville, and other downtown neighborhoods, reports Apartment List: • Gold Coast. Chestnut Tower Apartments, 121 West Chestnut Street, offers studios with 540 square feet for $1,763. One-bedroom units with 615 square feet go for $2,224, and two-bedroom layouts with 1,100 square feet lease for $3,418. At 850 Lake Shore Drive, one-bedroom units with 1,031 square feet rent for $2,706, while two-bedroom layouts with 1,432 square feet go for $3,792. • Streeterville. Lake Shore Plaza, 445 East Ohio Street, 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 East South Water Street, studios with 670 square feet rent for $1,800. One-bedroom units with 730 square feet go for $1,945, while two-bedroom layouts with 1,185 square feet lease for $2,680.
• 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 two-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 to move to Milwaukee, where rents only rose 8.2 percent in 2021. Median rent on one-bedroom units is $807, and two-bedroom layouts lease for $992. |
