Chicago Rent Growth Levels Cool as Construction Ramps Up
Apartment construction in metro Chicago is at a decade-high, with most of it concentrated in the urban core. That’s contributed to a slowdown in rent growth levels.

Apartment construction in metro Chicago is at a decade-high, with most of it concentrated in the urban core. That’s contributed to a slowdown in rent growth levels.
Across many U.S. metros, apartment properties in or adjacent to downtown rank among the strongest performers right now. That’s certainly true in metro Chicago, with the pattern seen especially in the robust rent growth posted in The Loop.
The drop-off in apartment construction in the downtown Chicago submarkets helped drive up rent growth levels in the metro to a two-decade high. But now, construction is ramping up quickly again.
Greg Willett and Jay Parsons look at three apartment markets that have significantly outperformed expectations so far in 2011.
Chicago’s apartment sector continues to record strong demand, ranking third nationally with a same-store rental rate hike of 3.2 percent in 2011′s 2nd quarter.
Chicago’s apartment sector recorded notable improvement in 2010 despite the area’s weak economic climate.
MPF Research reveals its top 10 picks for revenue growth in 2011 among the nation’s major markets.
As 2010 draws to a close and forecasts for 2011 performance are fine-tuned, three markets where predicting the near-term outlook is comparatively tough have emerged: Chicago, Orange County and Atlanta.
In the year-ending June 2010, Chicago recorded its strongest apartment demand total since 2004. In turn, occupancy and rents climbed. But what about all that new apartment supply in the Intown Chicago submarket? Jay Parsons breaks down that and more in this video edition of Apartment Market Dynamics.