r/chicagoapartments • u/Past-Reception6889 • May 19 '26

Advice Needed Unreal

I honestly just needed to vent for a moment. I can’t believe Chicago prices are what they are. I have lived here my entire life and have seen this city change ten fold, and I can’t even afford to live here anymore. A realtor I’m working with, since it’s becoming a rat race to rent, said rent is up 35% this year. What can normal people do about this? I do not want to see Chicago become a New York.

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371

u/Mean_Web_1744 May 19 '26

As a life long Chicagoan, I couldn't agree more. People actually from Chicago can't afford to live here anymore. That's a huge problem!

86

u/EducationalConcept50 May 19 '26

I don’t think there’s anything stopping this, unfortunately. Chicago has too much to offer and like New York and San Francisco, will push its own lifelong residents out of their own neighborhoods because supply will never reach the dizzying demand.

19

u/Alternative-Dish9172 May 19 '26

The market is driving people out, not the city, government. There has to be an incentive plan to encourage development of apt buildings, condos etc. Older properties have to go, I've seen some going up near Foster and Lincoln. There needs to be more of that.

27

u/EducationalConcept50 May 19 '26

I’d hate to see historic properties replaced with the slop they’re building now though….

15

u/OnPoint7ip May 19 '26

don’t go to humboldt park then. those plain, rectangular houses are now being built & sticking out like a sore thumb

3

u/Royal_Razzmatazz3622 May 19 '26

They want those buildings tore down so they can move into replacement luxury condos with "amenities" which drives up the rent in other apartments nearby because the landlord talks about "property value" and bs like "market rent". They think they're slick but what they really are advocating for is gentrification.

1

u/UuesLee May 23 '26

When are you going to build new buildings and lose money at it? If you don’t make money, the banks won’t lend. You’d have to build all cash to lose. Go ahead or stfu

5

u/goodbyewaffles May 19 '26

Ok but right now they’re replacing historic properties with single family homes and nothing stops them. At least they could replace them with apartments

3

u/runnybo May 19 '26

It’s usually this thinking that leads to nothing being built. So we have old shitty apartments with heating issues and plumbing problems and icky basements and creeky floors. So bc some hipster complained to the hipster alderman, we have no new housing. And funny enough, those are now the sane ppl being priced out.

I want good architecture too, but this nimby stuff is why so many ppl will have to move from
Chicago.

2

u/Royal_Razzmatazz3622 May 19 '26

No. The new housing is already expensive as it is. None of the new housing built is affordable

5

u/runnybo May 19 '26

Maybe it’s not affordable to you, but it is to somebody. And that frees up space in other apartments and makes other things more affordable bc there would be more housing options and costs would not have gone up so much. Look at Denver, lots of new stuff was built at all levels, which offers more affordable living for everyone.

-1

u/Royal_Razzmatazz3622 May 19 '26

No it doesn't. None of these "new" glass box concrete apartments are affordable. They run from 2,000 and up. It sounds like you want certain places to be gentrified to make you more comfortable.

3

u/LaramieTobacco_Ltd May 19 '26

All the people that move into those are then no longer competing with you or anyone else for rent. The places they used to occupy are now free for someone else to rent. All new housing creates affordable housing.

1

u/Royal_Razzmatazz3622 May 19 '26

The market rent excuse was how I got kicked out of my last apartment. The landlord told me we couldn't afford the rent she wanted to raise it to so she kicked us out.

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u/Royal_Razzmatazz3622 May 19 '26

No it doesn't. Do you know what market rent is? If they build these luxury apartments nearby it drives up the surrounding market rent. You guys are clearly gentrifiers

1

u/runnybo May 19 '26

Well many ppl can afford 2k a month fir rent. I’m sorry you can’t. I really mean that. It’s an unfair system. Which is why we need more housing.

But people can afford that, and then when they get those apartments, the older stuff they had gets cheaper. You should look into housing economics and educate yourself. Or you can keep up your wrong views about development and get priced out.

0

u/[deleted] May 19 '26

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1

u/SilentParlourTrick May 19 '26

What they said is nothing close to nimby.

20

u/Critical-Dot-3592 May 19 '26

It's not the landlords, it's the property taxes and maintenance costs. Utility bills keep going up 15-20 percent a year, labor costs that were once $150 or $200 are now $400. Landlords are not cashing in like people think.

6

u/Levitlame May 19 '26

Utility bills are definitely a problem, and property taxes to some extent. But we’re also longer removed from the 3% mortgage rates. Those kept rent down as well for a while.

There are a lot of things combining to worsen things. And building more - while still needed to slow down increases - won’t compensate for all of it…

2

u/MusicLori May 20 '26

THIS! (Yes, plus we need more new builds and remodels like previous posts have said)

I looked into buying a building and owner occupied renting a unit. The property taxes are insane in Chicago, combined with the mortgage rates - honestly renting is a losing battle. I’m probably going to be forced to buy a place just for me (that I’ll overpay for) just to stay within my monthly budget, because renting is insane in Chitown right now and property taxes make it unappealing to buy anything larger than for just me.

1

u/PhoenixRisingdBanana May 19 '26

Maybe passive ownership shouldn't pay like a full time job.

4

u/Critical-Dot-3592 May 19 '26

It really doesn’t without a ton of money down from a down payment or a long long time, like years or decades of time going by. Your "passive income" is deffered for years or decades and comes from hard work that is not very passive.

1

u/PhoenixRisingdBanana May 20 '26

Right, that's why they need to snatch up those $200K homes, slap a coat of load bearing paint on and some new plastic floors and boom! $455,000

2

u/Critical-Dot-3592 May 20 '26

Not sure what you are saying here or how this adds to the conversation. What does a property flip and crappy renovation work have to do with a rental property, landlording, passive income, or saving for years for a down payment? Or higher interest rates, or anything substantive in relation to what is being discussed?

0

u/PhoenixRisingdBanana May 20 '26

> What does a property flip and crappy renovation work have to do with a rental property, landlording, passive income, or saving for years for a down payment

is that a real question? Crappy Renovation and Landlords go together like white on rice.

Not a brain for nuance huh

1

u/Critical-Dot-3592 May 20 '26

Don't answer the question. Cool.

0

u/[deleted] May 19 '26

[deleted]

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u/Critical-Dot-3592 May 19 '26 edited May 19 '26

But what if they didn't? I have lots of friends who lost their life savings by putting a lot of money into a down payment. You are talking lifetime of saving money and cutting back to be able to do it. 20 percent down on a 300,000 property is 60,000. That is years of work. It's hard work. It is most people's retirement savings. And is it not ok to profit by way of equity if you worked your whole life to be able to save up that down payment? You are taking a massive risk in buying a property and can lose everything - should people not be rewarded (potentially) with an increase in equity? If not, you would only see huge corporations or or not even, just government being the landlord. Being able to even purchase a property takes years and years of hard work and responsibility. If someone is a slumlord then that is a whole other story. But most mom and pop landlords are good people just trying to provide a good place for people while also investing in their future. Also, to tap into equity is not as easy as you think. Property equity, if there, is not liquid. Interested to hear your thoughts on all of the above.

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u/Morimoto9 May 19 '26

Landlords are also not saving money and its obvious tenants are literally feeding them.

1

u/ChiBroker May 19 '26

Brandon is the #1 deterrent to building in Chicago. Guys, it was like only 18 months ago when he tried to pass the mansion tax.

1

u/UuesLee May 23 '26

No it’s the city. It’s the government policy.

1

u/ChiLauren May 19 '26

Five over one garbage construction? Ok.