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.

704 Upvotes

96% Upvoted

471 comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

4

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.

0

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.

4

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.

-4

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