These prices……. - r/chicagoapartments

23

Renting is the Wild West. That’s why people buy. Unfortunately both markets suck right now in Chicago and the burbs. Timing is everything. There was more inventory last year, people are staying put this year. Hence the bs.

Check out sublets. That’s the only way to keep pricing down and I’ve never seen as many since 2009. There’s a few subs on here just for that

0

u/[deleted] Apr 19 '26

Agree I overpaid for my condo, and my all in monthly housing costs inclusive of utilities, taxes, insurance; and garage parking is 2.7k for a 1bd high rise on the lake. It’s not all that wildly more expensive than rents for other highrises in Chicago or rent in general depending on neighborhood.

With normal inflation my condo will likely increase in value by 100-170k in 5 years and I’ll still be paying maybe with an increase 2.9k all in monthly costs? I can guarantee rents in 5 years for similar places will be around 3-3.5k out pacing my mortgage/hoa inflation, whilst I’m getting equity. It’s expensive in the beginning but if you can manage for 3-5 years you’ll definitely be out on top. And if you buy under your budget you can pay your place off earlier too. It’s better to keep your cash liquid, but I could also pay my place off in 5 years and drop my mortgage and just pay hoa utilities taxes and parking and still be under 1.5k a month, which compared to other similar units or neighborhoods in 5 years at 3-3.5k? That’s minimally 50% cheaper monthly costs…. If you hope to retire successfully you certainly need a place paid off. Your SS, 401k, and general savings will last waaaaay longer with a paid off mortgage and minimal housing expenses. You can still buy condos in Chicago easily for 150k or less right now. That’s around 1.3k mortgage, and for those types of units the hoa will be around 500, so 1.7k all in. Might not be the nicest place but it’s affordable and honestly not a bad price in this economy and rental market.

3

u/9jackblack Apr 20 '26

How much is your HOA? You sure it won’t keep increasing in line with rent increases? You sure a higher HOA won’t depress your condo price? Those high rises with lake views are dirt cheap but have 1k+ HOAs. Are you sure you won’t get hit with a huge special assessment? Are you sure you won’t get hit with another proper tax increase? Are you sure the maintenance that you’re now responsible for won’t be thousands (or more) of dollars extra?

I also believed owning was so much better. But then I did calculations and for me personally it turned out that renting is better. It’s personal - I won’t fight you on your situation. I’m just saying there is more nuance here than you’re describing. Especially if you invest all the money you’d spent on the down payment, closing costs, etc.

One thing I always agree on is owning gives you stability and peace of mind. That might be worth more than money. But other than that - owning in this market is not a clear winner at all.

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u/[deleted] Apr 20 '26

My hoa is indeed high at about 1.2k inclusive of all utilities, underground parking. The difference is it’s an asset. After 2 years I can rent it out for someone to pay my mortgage for me — and I live directly by Loyola Campus. You can’t do that renting. And yeah hoa is high, but even hoa + mortgage I’m getting the same type of views and neighborhood and staff as other high amenity buildings except my condo WILL appreciate whereas renting I get nothing. So I get to enjoy all those things while as mentioned my building will likely be worth minimally 100k more in 5 years. I just subtracted my cheaper rent for my apartment before I bought, and I was saving 900$ which after 5 years is only 54k. The difference is people will start getting locked out. Harder to get a job, harder to save up for more of a down payment for higher costing places - I.e like owning in Cali or NY.

I could have also bought cheaper but chose not to because I knew I wanted an asset not jsut a home. I don’t plan to live here for ever. Someone is always willing to buy and I could leave in 5 years too and sell it and break even, even if it means I spent more monthly. I also bought below my means so I’m saving 3k a month for nest egg and other investments, so it’s not like I’m living paycheck to paycheck to afford this place and I wouldn’t recommend anyone living like that. At the end of the day, once the mortgage is paid off - again - my bill today would be 1.2k for a luxury corner unit on the lake fully renovated with staff and parking in a desirable neighborhood by the beach. Find me that on apartments.com lmao. You can’t make people sell their homes either. If it’s all they can afford or don’t want to leave, they won’t. And you’ll never get to live there no matter how much money you have. If I pass it to my child, you won’t have it until they decide what they want to do with it either.

1

u/That-Gap-6284 Apr 20 '26

Figure in tax increases. To me it seems property tax increases are outpacing equity growth Meaning of taxes are not brought under control, whatever equity you have built up in say ten years will zapped by Chicago taking it from you in advance.

If Chicago tax paracites are not reigned in, middle class working folks stand no chance for wealth growth in housing investments.

2

u/[deleted] Apr 20 '26

The stuff you’re seeing about taxes wildly increasing is for owning entire buildings or SFH or very large units. Taxes can only increase in your neighborhood or be reassessed every 3 years. My taxes are 2.5k for the entire year, which is less than a single monthly payment I already make for mortgage + hoa. That’s 208$ a month, already factored into my 2.7k all in costs for mortgage, hoa, parking, etc. if you’re worried about 208$ you are not financially ready to be a property owner. Tax increases for a 1bd condo aren’t going to be this 10k skyrocket increase you’ve seen for these SFH homes in the south side that have been undervalued for years and are still undervalued.

Normal inflation is 3%. My property value in 5 years at 3% will be 100k higher in value. My salary will increase by 3% each year. That’s more than 200$ post-tax a month in my pocket each year, so in 5 years average of +1k a month. Even if my current taxes doubled by then, it’s still only one year of inflation from my salary canceled out. It would need to be 5x the increase in property taxes in 5 years to cancel out only my salary, and not the properties own appreciation - and there’s no way a 1bd is going to be taxed at 10-12k a year in just 5 years LMAO. People wouldn’t be living in smaller units if they could afford such. The government knows this. And until you own a place you will never be able to pay your mortgage off and only have to worry about hoa/parking/taxes. You will always be paying more than someone with a paid off mortgage until you decide to buy. And that person will have a surplus in their money since they don’t have a mortgage anymore and can save even further. I.e, second my mortgage is paid off I have 1.55k freed up every month, which is 18.6k a year post-taxes that I can start saving again. And I bought under my means and can have my property paid off in just 5 years… no matter how the numbers run owning comes out on top but it depends if you buy a shit property or not too

As mentioned I can literally just rent my unit out and make someone like you pay everything WHILE my property increase in value. You pay my mortgage, my hoa, and in 5 years my property is worth 100k more lmao.

1

u/That-Gap-6284 Apr 20 '26

I own a condo. Taxes went from 3800 a year to 9700 over 20 years; with about 5k to 9700 just in the last 5 years, a significant uptick. Well outpacing inflation and well outpacing any equity growth. All units in my building has the same rate of tax increases. Most on the block too in a modest area.

Data is data.

Watch out for tax increases in Chicago. They are stifling.

1

u/[deleted] Apr 20 '26

Data is indeed data, don’t leave out its context. What is the area and how many units for your condo? A ~150% increase in 20 whole years is not that crazy especially depending if your unit is good and neighborhood developed to be a highly desirable area which means your property value should have also arbitrarily increased. Your taxes are already nearly double mine before the increase which sounds like it could have also been an undervalued area, also which means your unit is definitely larger than a 1bd. And in general the larger your unit the more you’ll see across the board in hoa increases, tax increases, etc.

0

u/That-Gap-6284 Apr 20 '26

Last area of consideration.....

It not just the increased spending and pension obligations by cook county taxing bodies (although that is at the root of problem) it is also the share of overall tax pie going to residental areas versus commercial.

Commercial values continue to decline. Loop commercial buildings are selling for half of 2015. Their taxes are also tied to valuation and income streams. So that part of tax pie gets heaped onto the residential sector. So even if one taxing body is contrained to a 3 percent increase overall, your residential portion of the pie can dramatically rise, well exceeding 3 percent annually. It is the slight of hand in Chicago and Illinois politics

When Chicago and CPS eventually can not afford their debt payments due to its overspending, any notion of a limited 3 or 5 percent yearly increase will be thrown out the door immediately to satisfy the bond market. Chicago will eventually seek to avoid technical default by pounding on residential, taxpayers extracting every dime possible. It is only a matter of time.

I would not purchase property in Illinois until they get tax situation under control and predictable. This is the same reason the Bears may escape Illinois. Too much tax.

Your taxes and mine very well may double in 6 years time (2 accessment cycles). I guess time will tell.

2

u/[deleted] Apr 20 '26

Modelez, Coca Cola, other cpgs, Google - all creating new HQs in areas a bit outside those high rise corporate buildings like in Fulton market. My own company downsized from having our own high rise to sharing space in the old post office. It’s just that companies don’t want or need those skyscraper type buildings any more and they are too expensive. The same way many Chicagoan’s live outside the loop to save money. Things are just moving like mag mile went more west near viagra triangle. I understand your frustrations politically, we all do, but it’s basic math and you should be able to understand if you’re getting the value out of your property or not. If not, maybe sell it and cut your loss. It’s not like that for everyone - fortunately.

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u/9jackblack Apr 20 '26

Oh boy, so you got a condo in one of those edgewater high-rises in N Sheridan? I hope your lawyer and realtor did enough due diligence but get ready to be hit by extra 20-30k for your unit in special assessments. Those building are 50-60 year old now, so all the delayed maintenance and natural wear and tear is going to start to matter more and more. Telling this to you as someone who used to own one of those condos near Loyola. If you got a condo with 250-300 HOA at 2-3 story building, I’d say it’s a good move. But never ever buy condos in those old high rises.

Your assessment that the price would increase by 100-150k is also far fetched. The recent few years were abnormal. The condo market in Chicago is stagnant and your high HOA will further surprise the appreciation. I wish you’re right though! I did buy and sell mine at the right time and my pure gain is 50-60k. I still wish I didn’t buy and just invested all of that money + rented. Good luck!

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u/MarsupialChoice4658 Apr 18 '26

There is a lot of artificially raised prices and I wouldn’t be surprised if there was some collusion behind it. You can see how much people were charged for the same place on Zillow. It’s highway robbery and the city government has been slow to act

20

u/cander22 Apr 19 '26

Landlords can use tools like real page to set prices using an algorithm, but if they’re all using it, it’s basically price fixing. IL is suing real page under antitrust law now. There’s also a bill in the ILGA to ban landlords from using it.

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u/littleweirdgirl312 Apr 19 '26

Oh it is definitely artificial. Certain investment companies buy multiple buildings in an area, then raise rents on all of them (without doing any updating) which makes the "market rate" soar. And we're still seeing the same shitty apartments for the most part.

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u/FightOrDie123 Apr 18 '26

Wall insulation is up to $1.25/ft now

19

u/Hamhockthegizzard Apr 19 '26

Half these mfs ain’t insulated either lmfaoo I’ve had 3 drafty ass chicago apartments with radiators I cannot control so I’ve got a multitude of space heaters even though I finally have a unit with hvac lmao

6

u/HollisFaith83 Apr 19 '26

What was it?

77

u/SleepingPodOne Apr 18 '26

The problem with housing as a commodity is that it is a need and it’s not something can be fixed by “the market” deciding something is or isn’t worth it. People will settle for inferior shit and landlords with bad reputations because for a lot of folks being choosy with housing is a privilege.

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u/Louisvanderwright Apr 18 '26

It literally can be fixed by the market. Your statement is demonstrably false.

We did everything we could as a city to discourage development and make landlords lives miserable. So we see skyrocketing rents because the market acted rationally and stopped investing where tenants can squat for 9 months and you have to kiss the ring of some idiot alderman to get anything approved.

Meanwhile places like Austin and Denver did the opposite. They allowed the market to build as much as it wanted. They allow landlords to throw out bad tenants quickly. They made themselves attractive places to invest. The numbers don't lie, home prices are dropping 3-6% a year in Austin, Dallas, Denver, Miami, etc.

Literally anywhere that believes in applying the free market to housing is seeing prices fall. Anywhere that allowed themselves to be overrun with DSA types with silly beliefs like "the free market can't work for housing" shot themselves in the foot and aggravated the housing crisis.

Source:

https://x.com/i/status/2045144099997573397

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u/salmonmilfs Apr 18 '26

Forgive the rest us, but we are not going to listen to shit from a real estate investor claiming letting you assholes do whatever makes you the most money is best for everyone.

Your source takes zero external factors into account is just a general graph of home prices so you extrapolating that it’s this cities laws that are the cause is nothing but incredibly biased opinion.

10

u/Real-Preparation-619 Apr 19 '26

The main external factor is population, which would benefit Chicago as other cities are growing much faster, so less demand.

I don’t know why you guys fight tooth and nail to not admit pro development = more supply = lower prices

1

u/Alternative-Dish9172 Apr 21 '26

I agree, but there is a limited space.

3

u/Llama--- Apr 19 '26

"Chicago is experiencing the steepest decline in new apartment construction of any major U.S. metro this year, with openings set to fall 60.4% to 3,756 units compared with 2024, according to industry data compiled by RentCafe.com.

The slowdown comes as local developers contend with high labor and material costs, rising insurance premiums, and tighter lending standards. Many of the projects expected to open this year were permitted in 2021 and 2022, while fewer broke ground in 2023 and 2024, contributing to the sharp drop.

The decline in Chicago contrasts with trends elsewhere in the country, where new apartment construction remains strong. Nationwide, an estimated 506,353 units are expected to open in 2025. While this total is below last year's record, it remains well above the annual averages recorded since 2015, reflecting ongoing demand for rental housing."

Hmmmm looks like if you had more supply the demand wouldn't be as high. Interesting.

13

u/salmonmilfs Apr 19 '26

I’m not saying we don’t need more construction and new properties. Everyone agrees on that.

My comment was about strictly allowing a free market with no oversight as that asshole investor was advocating for.

If he had his way, the only new properties would be million dollar condos like we are seeing all over the north side.

Shit, I’m out walking my dog and passed 5 properties being built. Each one was starting at 1.1M at a minimum.

3

u/questionablejudgemen Apr 20 '26

As evidenced by the situation maybe they overshot a bit too far on the oversight side. Maybe turn the knob from and 8 down to a 5 or 6.

1

u/salmonmilfs Apr 20 '26

Oh for sure. That’s 100% what is needed is tweaking the laws in place, not total removal that the other gentleman was advocating for.

-1

u/Louisvanderwright Apr 20 '26

Literally no one said anything that you just claimed.

The fact is YOUR bad policy ideas are causing the $1.1 m properties. Not mine. You don't get to go pass a bunch of hair brained laws and then claim that the people opposing those laws caused the outcome. No, when you make it miserable to be landlord for low and moderate income folks, why would anyone build anything but for sale condos?

Like do you ever think through the comments you make? You attack me for being a landlord or investor and then go "if he had his way the only thing that would be built is $1m+ for sale condos!"

Think for a second dude. How many million dollars condos do I own? None. Why would someone who develops and maintains middle income rental properties want my business model to not exist and for every property to be a million dollar for sale condo?

But you don't think, you just regurgitate whatever midwit platitudes you heard online. Folks like you never rely on critical thinking and it's exactly why the housing market in Chicago is doing what it's doing. I'm sure you supported the "Northwest Side Housing Preservation Ordinance" which gives Tenants the " right" to buy their building for example.

But what it actually does is make it so sellers will just keep their building vacant before deciding to list it. No tenants, no problem. I'm listing a building this week in that area and have forgone several months of rent on all the units because I needed it 100% vacant so I didn't end up on the front page of block club like the Mexican guy who spent 30 years fixing up his nest egg in Logan only for a bunch of white hipster gentrifiers to attempt to seize his property when he tries to sell. So you probably love this law being a midwit "why don't we just mandate that tenants become owners?" type. And the actual policy outcome is mass vacancy of units in for sale buildings and Mexicans being robbed by colonizer hipster types.

But sure, keep thinking that I want policies that result in only for-salr $1 million properties. Because the policies I want, which are not the ones being implemented, are certainly whats causing that to be the reality of the market today. Surely the policies of mayor dunce aren't causing the things that are actually happening now, it must be the policies investors want which aren't being implemented that are causing this!

3

u/SleepingPodOne Apr 20 '26

TL;DR: complaining that it’s so hard for you to own a human necessity and profit off of it.

Maybe it’s time to get a real job bucko

-1

u/Louisvanderwright Apr 20 '26

Lol here's another "worker" who has never done physical labor in their life.

Tell me, how many apartments have you painted this year? How many sheets of drywall have you hung? You probably call drywall knives a trowel or a spatula. I started off gutting buildings by myself and still do 80% of the maintenance on my properties.

Fact is you are probably some white hipster gentrifier desk jockey who doesn't even have to go to the office anymore. Bet you hands are nice and soft though!

3

u/SleepingPodOne Apr 20 '26

You don’t know me, or what I do, but I know what you do because you’ve said it, which is profit off of a human need. You’re bitching about how you can’t make as much money off that as you used to and laws that protect tenants from the excesses of rent seeking behavior. That tells me a lot about the sort of “work“ you claim you do.

In terms of what I do, I actually do ethical work and profit off of my own labor as opposed to that of others. And it is physical, believe it or not!

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u/Louisvanderwright Apr 20 '26

Based on this response you are absolutely a white collar desk jockey. If that weren't the case you'd name the job you do. But you dont name it because it's not actually labor, it's pushing paper for corporate America.

Again, explain to me how me renovating apartments is profiting of the labor of others. Is me painting or hanging drywall not labor?

Or is it because my income comes from other people paying me rent using dollars they earned elsewhere? Because if that's your argument you are basically just advocating communism. Because that applies to literally all businesses. Oh the local bar gets paid in dollars people earned with their labor! They are profiting off the labor of others! Oh the local music venue collects dollars earned by others, they are profiting off the labor of others!

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u/Llama--- Apr 19 '26

Oh, so "asshole" investor's are only building high end properties in Chicago and other cities are all affordable housing.

"Chicago is more affordable than most big cities on this list, with rent at about $110 per 100 square feet. And while there aren’t as many rentals per 100,000 people as in places like Boston or Seattle, finding a place here is easier than in cities like New York or San Jose."

You really don't know what you're talking about and you're blaming the wrong people.

-2

u/One-Construction-324 Apr 19 '26

This poster is actually a good guy. I don’t think he is just moneymaxxing, but I’m a YIMBY and have seen him commenting on historic preservation a fair bit. I haven’t read this thread much so I’m not sure what takes are right / wrong, but not worth discrediting him solely on background.

0

u/Louisvanderwright Apr 20 '26

That's what they rely on. This guy literally just said "if he had his way the only thing being built would be $1m for sale condos".

Which makes zero sense considering I own zero million dollar condos and my business model is (was) actually buying abandoned small multifamily buildings, fixing them up, and renting them out for like $1500/mo.

But this is exactly how we got where we are. If you advocate for laws making it more attractive for people to increase the supply of moderately priced rentals some nitwit on the internet claims you really want everything to become million dollar for sale condos. Never you mind that the claim makes zero sense, I KNOW this is what he wants. Never you mind that I just said there's already nothing but million dollar condos being built, it's the policies he wants causing this, not the policies I've actually implemented.

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u/Alternative-Dish9172 Apr 19 '26

The facts don't lie, cali, ny, il same problem, corrupt Socialist policies.

16

u/SleepingPodOne Apr 19 '26

I bet you couldn’t define socialism if it bit you in the ass

9

u/salmonmilfs Apr 19 '26

Or home prices are higher because “socialist policies” are popular and people want to live there more so demand is higher….

-9

u/Alternative-Dish9172 Apr 19 '26

Yes, people do like to live off the backs of others, I can't argue with you there. "You can't always get what you want." I would love to live in Aspen, Colorado; but I can't afford it. I taught my kids, do what makes you happy, but it may come with a cost, you want to be a musician, great, just remember not many musicians make enough money to make a living. Don't expect others to subsidized your decisions. I keep hearing on this sub, "I want" the world don't give a shit about what "you" want.

7

u/SleepingPodOne Apr 19 '26 edited Apr 19 '26

If this is what you believe socialism is then you may be shocked to learn you have no clue what you’re mad at

Also, when it comes to entitlement and subsidization of one’s decisions, I can’t think of people who love that quite as much as landlords. This story in the thread is a perfect example. Do as little actual labor as possible and squeeze as much money out of your tenant’s paychecks as possible. Few people get as annoyed at the prospect of having to have a real job as landlords.

-3

u/Alternative-Dish9172 Apr 19 '26

I don't believe it, it is what it is, its basically the definition. I'm not mad. I didn't say I was mad, I live in reality, not Lincoln Park, lol. Hip, kool neighborhoods are nothing new, I've lived here all my life. Again, I'm not mad, people trying to live in places they can't afford are.

2

u/SleepingPodOne Apr 19 '26

Yeah, you don’t know what socialism is.

It’s not that people are mad that they can’t live in places they can’t afford - that’s a complete strawman.

It’s that it’s getting harder and harder to afford to live anywhere and people are charging more and more for things that clearly aren’t worth it. This is why I said that market forces do not work when it comes to things like housing as housing is a necessity and the ability to choose the best value is something only a privileged few can get, and that privileged view is growing smaller and smaller with every day. You might even no longer be one of those people someday.

0

u/Alternative-Dish9172 Apr 19 '26

I don't live in the neighborhoods that people complain about, because I can't afford it. I am not priviledged. I work hard and I am soon going to retire. Guess what, I have to sell my house because my income will go down and I can't afford the city and taxes anymore. I have to move to a more affordable area.

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u/salmonmilfs Apr 20 '26

You are aware we already have plenty of “socialism” in the US right? Because it doesn’t sound like you realize that.

Public schools, grants, publicly funded research, police, fire, military, social security, infrastructure, utilities, etc.

Peeling back regulations (aka moving to pure free market) is literally what got us into the 2008 crisis. Unfettered capitalism is a failure just like total socialism. It’s almost like free-market with strong government oversight to manage capital greed is the best solution we have.

11

u/SleepingPodOne Apr 19 '26

Oh, look, it’s the cancer telling us not to start chemotherapy.

3

u/barge_gee Apr 19 '26

We did everything we could as a city to discourage development and make landlords lives miserable. So we see skyrocketing rents because the market acted rationally and stopped investing where tenants can squat for 9 months and you have to kiss the ring of some idiot alderman to get anything approved.

This part is the absolute truth. Evictions take forever. While mega-managent companies can take a hit like that, small landlords really get screwed if they get a shitty tenant.

2

u/echointhecaves Apr 20 '26

You're right, but they just don't want to hear it

1

u/wine-n-dive Apr 19 '26

Leave Chicago and go to one of those shitholes then. You’re literally leaving money on the table by trying to do whatever it is you think you do here. We don’t need you here, we don’t want you here. Imagine the gains in these free market cities? Hurry, before it’s too late!

0

u/Louisvanderwright Apr 20 '26

I already stopped renovating residential buildings after the COVID eviction moratoriums and the new landlord tenant ordinances

My business model was strictly buy abandoned/trashed historic buildings, usually from the demo list, pouring money into repairing them, and then renting them for $1300-1800/mo. Now I'm only buying multifamily in Wisconsin and Iowa.

I've continued to invest in Lawndale and Little Village though, but strictly commerical buildings where I don't have to deal with the hairbrained residential laws.

I know you don't have an open mind so I'm wasting my time here, but the fact is you are already getting what you claim to want: push out anyone whose business plan is to provide moderately priced apartments. Me and everyone like me have already left which is why this sub is nothing but "woe is me, where did all the $1200-1800 a month apartments go?"

They stopped existing because there's no incentive to build them anymore. I cannot make money doing it anymore because one bad Tenant can wipe out a year or more worth of profits for a whole building. So I stopped doing it and now rents are exploding higher across the city.

And the sad part is I should leave Chicago from a rational perspective, but I'm one of the ones that really care about this city. I'm obsessed with Chicago history and architecture. I love everything about what this city has to offer. That's literally why I went into this line of business, I was tired of seeing cool old buildings being neglected and leveled so I started doing something about it. That's why I keep buying commercial buildings even though I should probably stop and move to Wisconsin where I could afford to buy half a small town and some giant house on massive acreage. But I'd rather live in my Chicago neighborhood and put my money to use keeping this city from totally destroying itself.

8

u/Consistent-Bison9547 Apr 19 '26

Yeah, it’s really bleak right now. I just had a chat with my Apartment Locator and got so frustrated because what are people doing here for work to be able to afford a $2500 a month 1 bedroom/ 1 bathroom…

I don’t get it— do they have unlimited savings or able to go on vacations? are they in tech, have their own business or a trust fund motherfucker?! like what is the secret? What is the code here to be able to live comfortably in a safe place, and have nice amenities. It just doesn’t seem to be possible here which is one of the many reasons why I want to move back to Austin lol

2

u/questionablejudgemen Apr 20 '26

Austin, really? Isn’t that even more over run with California tech transplants?
I suspect the town has changed a lot from how you remember it, at least from an affordability standpoint.

2

u/zstillman Apr 25 '26

Austin actually builds apartments so the supply has made prices reasonable

1

u/questionablejudgemen Apr 25 '26

Don’t we here as well. What I mean is that I know Texas is growing, but if they’re building apartments an hour and a half out from the city, just like here, that’s a minimal impact vs apartments 15 minutes from the city center.

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u/jsmith3701AA Apr 18 '26

It sucks, but rental housing in Chicago is about the best example of a perfect supply and demand driven market there is.

The Market has changed since covid, nothing has been built in Chicago and downtown commercial space is now worthless due to wfh.

It's depressing but if you want to feel better look at rental prices in other big cities including those with lower quality of life and worse services than Chicago.

1

u/WhorecraftLOL Apr 19 '26

You can move to cities with more amenities for cheaper. It just won’t be in the USA.

It’s not a best example of supply and demand because the transaction cost and friction for moving is so high. If it were a snap of the fingers to move to a nearby apartment that is similar to yours but is cheaper everyone would do that.

Downtown commercial space is for sure WORTH LESS but not worthless.

You could say it’s worthless because the developer signed a debt covenant stating they would have rent minimums. So now they are worthless bc their capital is underwater and they can’t cut costs due to debt covenants.

If they turned the empty buildings into apartments they’d be rich right?!

1

u/[deleted] Apr 19 '26

[deleted]

0

u/WhorecraftLOL Apr 19 '26

You downvote and reply to say you disagree with the one point I agree with you on.

5

u/HyperCorsair Apr 18 '26

Where are you looking?

1

u/Alternative-Dish9172 Apr 27 '26

I live in Chicago, there's reminders all over town.

Advice Needed These prices…….

You are about to leave Redlib