December 7, 2009 - It was only a few posts ago that we told you about the drop in average rents for Chicago apartments. This was attributed to the growing number of Chicago real estate projects that have switched to rental and the increasing number of Chicago apartment towers that are either already completed or will be in the next year. Add in the Chicago condos that are up for rent and you have a supply and demand issue.

But now Crain’s is reporting that suburban Chicago apartment rents have gone up slightly in the third quarter of this year. Don DeVries, VO of Appraisal Research Counselors, was quoted in the article as saying that suburban rents, “appear to be stabilizing.” He also stated that, “If we could just get some employment growth, we could be in a much better position for the spring rental market.”

Appraisal Research Counselors reported that suburban apartment occupancy increased to 92% in the third quarter of this year. That number is up from the 91.7% of the second quarter. Even with the increase though, it is lower than the 92.8% occupancy rate of the third quarter of last year (2008).

Suburban rents also went up slightly, with averages being $1.07 per square foot. That is a penny more than the $1.06 of the first quarter of this year. Not much of a gain there.

With the surplus in both Chicago apartments and Chicago Condos, renters and buyers should stay in the driver’s seat in Chicago real estate for a while yet.

Technorati Tags: Chicago Apartments, Chicago Condos, Chicago Real Estate

This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 8th, 2009 at 10:05 am and is filed under Market Update(t) , Suburbs(t) , News(t) . You can leave a response.