Multi-family Consulting / Chicago
Chicago is the contrarian winner of the 2025 cycle. Asking rents averaged roughly $1,900 per unit at year-end 2025 with year-over-year growth of about 3.4 to 3.9 percent, while vacancy held near 5.0 percent and Chicago ranked sixth in occupancy among the 50 largest U.S. metros. About 8,600 units were under construction, only 1.5 percent of inventory, and 2025 deliveries fell roughly 40 percent versus 2024 to about 4,200 to 5,200 units. The offset is operating cost: the 2024 City of Chicago triennial reassessment lifted total assessed value 23 percent to $50.8 billion, with Class 3 multifamily up 34 percent citywide.
Streeterville posted the highest average rents in the city at roughly $3,454, with Gold Coast and Old Town near $3,445 and River North near $3,426. The Loop averaged in the mid-$2,500s and Lincoln Park and Lakeview clustered in the mid-$2,300s. Fulton Market and West Loop continue to anchor the trophy pipeline even as starts have collapsed. The 287-unit, 19-story project at 1221 West Washington Boulevard, slated for late 2026, is one of the few ground-up downtown deliveries in that window. Magellan Development joined a Rodrigo d'Escoto and Ted Weldon venture on a 724-unit Fulton Market project at 410 North Elizabeth Street with a $102 million Bank OZK construction loan. Sterling Bay and Magellan pre-leased the 289-unit Millie on Michigan at 300 North Michigan Avenue. Marquette Companies listed The Mason in Fulton Market for sale during the year.
North Side neighborhoods continue to absorb steadily. Wicker Park, Logan Square, Lincoln Park, and Uptown all hold sub-5 percent vacancy on stabilized product, with Wicker Park one-bedrooms averaging in the mid-$2,400s. Pilsen and Bridgeport sit closer to the citywide average around $1,847 to $2,000 with stronger value-add demand. Hyde Park is constrained by University of Chicago demand and limited supply.
The suburbs are running tighter than downtown on rent growth in many submarkets. Class A product in Naperville, Wheaton, and Libertyville commands rents north of $2.25 per square foot. Naperville averages roughly $1,700 to $2,610. Evanston ranges from $1,504 to $3,539 depending on product type. Schaumburg and Oak Park track similarly, with Metra and CTA accessibility doing the work. JVM Realty out of Oak Brook runs a $1.6 billion Midwest-focused portfolio anchored heavily in suburban Chicago. Habitat, Marquette, Greystar, and Onni round out the active operator set.
Property taxes are the dominant 2025 and 2026 underwriting variable. The 2024 reassessment moved Class 3 multifamily assessed value up 34 percent citywide, and homeowner share of the tax base dropped from 51 percent to 49 percent. The pain shows up in the second installment bill that lands the year after the reassessment, and again on appeals filed through the township-by-township Board of Review windows that ran August through December 2025. Owners that did not file at both the Assessor and the Board of Review are leaving meaningful relief on the table.
The Bring Chicago Home transfer tax referendum was rejected on March 19, 2024, with 52.17 percent voting no. Mayor Johnson stated in February 2025 that he intends to bring a version of the question back to voters, which keeps a graduated transfer tax above $1 million as an underwriting overhang on dispositions. The Just Cause Eviction ordinance was reintroduced to City Council in May 2025 with Alderman Desmon Yancy as lead sponsor and more than 20 council co-sponsors. The proposal requires landlords to cite one of several enumerated grounds to terminate or non-renew a lease, requires relocation assistance for no-fault terminations and for rent increases above 10 percent, and requires licensed contractor documentation for renovation-based vacancies. RLTO already governs security deposits, late fees, and habitability, and the proposed ordinance layers additional process on top of it.
Operating cost inflation is real. Winter heating runs roughly $220 per month per unit on natural gas, snow and ice management contracts have repriced, and insurance has stepped up two cycles in a row. Transit-dependent submarkets like Uptown, Logan Square, Hyde Park, and Evanston live or die on Red Line, Blue Line, Purple Line, and Metra reliability, which affects lease-up timing on transit-oriented product.
The areas below show up in most Chicago engagements. Scope is set per client based on what is actually needed.
We file paired Assessor and Board of Review filings on the correct township calendar, with income-approach evidence packages on Class 3 properties. Owners that file at both venues capture meaningful additional relief on the second pass.
We rebenchmark heating, snow removal, insurance, and payroll with submarket comps that account for 1909 to 1929 vintage stock versus post-2015 high-rise. Vintage drives the cost line as much as submarket does.
We build pacing models for Fulton Market, West Loop, River North, and Streeterville projects against the 2026 downtown supply trough and the 2027 wave that follows. The work covers concession structure, renewal timing, and amenity positioning.
We run a compliance gap analysis against RLTO and a Just Cause Eviction readiness review covering notice templates, renewal workflows, and relocation assistance reserves. Owners should plan templates and reserves on the assumption a version of the ordinance lands.
We underwrite Naperville, Schaumburg, Oak Park, and Evanston with explicit treatment of Metra and CTA access and school district premia. Class A suburban product is running tighter on rent growth than downtown in many cases.
We model disposition timing around any renewed Bring Chicago Home referendum and the next triennial reassessment cycle so owners can choose their window rather than have it chosen for them.
Chicago led major Midwest and Northeast metros at roughly 3.4 to 3.9 percent year-over-year through year-end 2025 per CoStar and Yardi Matrix, while Austin posted negative 5.0 percent, Phoenix negative 3.7 percent, and Denver negative 3.2 percent. Concession use in Chicago sits in the mid-teens percent of properties, against more than 50 percent in Denver, Phoenix, Jacksonville, Raleigh, and Austin.
Each township opens its own Assessor and Board of Review windows on a rolling basis. Most 2025 Board of Review windows ran August through December 2025. Owners should file at both the Assessor and the Board of Review because the second filing is a separate forum with separate evidence rules.
Voters rejected the graduated transfer tax 52.17 percent to 47.83 percent on March 19, 2024. Mayor Johnson signaled in February 2025 that a follow-up question is likely, so the issue remains live for sale-side underwriting on assets above $1 million.
The May 2025 reintroduction has more than 20 council co-sponsors and broad coalition support, and a prior version stalled in 2020. Owners should plan templates and reserves on the assumption that some version of relocation assistance and enumerated-cause requirements will reach the books.
The figures and references on this page draw from the following industry sources.
We work with owners, operators, and ownership groups on assets and portfolios in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin. Send a short note about the property or situation and we will follow up.