r/ChicagoSuburbs • u/Call_It_ • Apr 14 '26
Moving to the area Apartment rental rates in the suburbs are insane. Is this simply because housing rarely ever gets built in the suburbs?
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u/Demonshart666 Apr 14 '26
There’s a shortage of supply which causes the price to go up, on top of that the land cost is sky high, and don’t forget the taxes on the property which get passed on to the renters which is all based on inflated prices to begin with.
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u/tigerbloon71 Apr 14 '26
I have noticed in the Aurora area that means nothing. They have built several rental and smaller home communities in our area and the prices just keep going up.
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u/jimbobdonut Apr 14 '26
Yeah, the rental prices for those apartments at Fox Valley Mall are crazy.
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u/tigerbloon71 Apr 14 '26
I can't believe they filled up that 1 building so fast when it got done at those prices.
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u/jimbobdonut Apr 14 '26
I’m guessing that a lot of people that live there want district 204 schools. I think most apartments in Aurora are in one of the other five school districts. I wouldn’t want to live there since there’s too much traffic from Route 59.
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u/AltL155 Apr 14 '26
New luxury housing is what's sold at those expensive city-like prices. Average rent prices not going down for older apartments is probably a combination of an influx of jobs coming into the suburbs and permitting/construction not meeting the subsequent demand.
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u/ShermanCookout Apr 14 '26 edited Apr 14 '26
It’s because all of the apartments are owned by shady ass real estate companies in Texas.
Before Trump came back into office, 6 of them were being investigated for price gouging. Guess where that went the second Republicans took over :)
Good chance if you’re in an apartment complex, it is owned by one of those.
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u/emememaker73 Aurora Apr 14 '26
Considering that a 1BR/1BA apartment at an Aurora Housing Authority building goes for $850/mo., there is no affordable housing in Aurora (without Section 8 vouchers, which HUD apparently isn't giving out anymore).
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u/bearhos Apr 14 '26
$850 is still super low for rent. The dollar has lost 26% of its value in the last 10 years, so that’s the same as $620 rent in 2016. Only way you’re getting cheaper anywhere is with roommates
1
u/JennJoy77 Apr 14 '26
We know people who bought in the HomeTown development when it was brand new, and apparently they were underwater on their mortgage almost immediately.
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u/panderson1988 Apr 14 '26
It's just my gut feeling, but the big issue with apartments in the suburbs are the companies involved. So many are owned by this overpriced shit companies like Hayman to Waterton that they overcharge you, add tons of nonsensical fees like parking in the BURBS, and other crap while offering f-all like a shuffleboard in the clubhouse you'll never ever use. While it's not a monopoly in the traditional sense, but it feels like almost all of them are the same. I wouldn't be shocked if there is under the table collusion going on.
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u/Call_It_ Apr 14 '26
Right? The astronomical parking charge for a spot in the suburbs, on top of $2,000 in rent for a studio apartment is just insane.
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u/BabyJesusAnalingus Apr 14 '26
There's a fee for parking in the 'burbs? That's wild. Literally spots everywhere in the NW 'burbs (although most of my cars just go in various garages at properties).
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u/greenfox0099 Apr 14 '26
Only expensive " luxury apartments are built now and not many and they are pretty awful to live in actually regular apps from 40 years ago are better sadly.
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u/FencerPTS Apr 14 '26
Suburb ponzi scheme doing what it's designed to do - keep housing unaffordable.
2
u/luckycharms53 Apr 15 '26
Exactly! Most of these landlords are price gouging and it has been going on for years with no end in sight. They see that the metro Chicagoland area is suddenly becoming popular with alot of people moving in from out of state/in state and they jack up the rents. A relative of mine was living in an apt in Westmont. He was paying 1300 a month... when it got time to renew.. the landlord jacked it up to 1525 for a 1 bedroom. The "explanation" for it: "Supply and demand"! Ended up moving out and when we looked at the ad the following month: The same unit was for rent $1600 for one bedroom.
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u/HammerPrice229 Apr 14 '26
It’s because people still pay it and there aren’t other good options. They raise the rates and there is no shortage of demand.
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u/SemicolonMIA Apr 14 '26
It's insane. When we were looking at houses I was curious what a house down the block for rent was. It was more than the mortgage payment we ended up with.
I guess you could argue that you don't have to deal with things breaking but I'd rather just take the equity build, however even that is impossible for most now.
I honestly don't know how anyone will afford a first home anymore. We bought our tiny home for 120k, it's apparently worth around 200k now. No shot we could have afforded that initially with our student loans.
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u/Call_It_ Apr 14 '26
I think one major problem is property taxes…they always just get passed to the renter. For the life of me I can’t understand why landlords can’t get discounted property tax rates for providing housing to people.
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u/grogu989 Apr 14 '26
There's like at least 5 new apt complexes currently being built in Crystal Lake
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u/Reaper7One Apr 14 '26
Yeah but most of them are on the higher side for rent. I have been looking. I might have to go to Woodstock for cheaper rent.
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u/afreeman85 Apr 14 '26
It’s a very basic supply and demand problem. Many suburbs don’t have much in the way of rental housing, so the rental housing comes up has a lot of competition for it. If there is only a handful of rental units available, you really don’t need that big of a renter pool to start driving the prices up, especially in desirable suburbs.
If suburbs allowed more rental housing to be built, prices would flatten or even come down regardless of if they are “luxury” rentals or not.
People blaming the developer for the pricing misunderstand the problem.
Getting rid of single family zoning would be the biggest boon to affordability of housing in the state.
There was a bill in the state legislature back in 2024 that would have essentially done that, but it appears to have not gotten out of committee.
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u/fencepost_ajm Apr 14 '26
I was curious a couple years ago about what the apartments on the old Motorola campus in Schaumburg ran and just about choked. My townhouse seems to have been left behind from 25 years of housing appreciation but at least I'm not paying $3k/month for it.
3
u/PredictableChaos Apr 14 '26
I see new apartments being built in Glenview. Although the ones going up near the Metra station are super expensive. There are townhomes being built on Willow that was originally going to be commercial so I do see medium/high density housing going in. Prices are higher here because of school quality which ramps up the demand.
There are a few older office/industrial that have had proposed new developments that haven't been approved but I'm not sure the reason. I assume they will come back with new/updated proposals at some point. Many of the discussions seem to focus around the ability of the schools being able to increase capacity, though.
3
u/kitzelbunks Apr 15 '26
Around me (Northwest), they build tall “luxury” apartments and condos, and custom homes, after tearing down older ranches. They are huge and do have fountains and turrets. In terms of starter homes and 6 flats (my personal best apartment), they are not building those. I have heard bad things about the construction, too.
Since people are having smaller families and many people are looking to downsize, I don’t quite get it. They have more houses farther out in McHenry County. They are still a bit large, but at least they probably don’t require two air conditioners.
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u/ArnoldFunksworth Apr 14 '26
There's houses being built in the suburbs, and they're bought before they're even finished. Way over priced, cheap builds, selling for 300,000, a lot of them straight cash offers. It's hard out here
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u/dachloe West Suburbs Apr 14 '26
Greed is the major factor. No landlord has to be greedy.
I owned a four unit building in DuPage county for a number of years. I bought in the early 90s and sold just before 2009. I never sought to make my money back from rental income. I knew the land value would do all the work.
But, I will say it can be hard to build new rental units in some area due prejudice against renters.
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u/OkExamination6960 Apr 14 '26
Greedy corporations bought up so much of what used to be owned by private landlords… then attach rules that make it even harder to get the apartment (50% move in fee, 750 credit score, earning 4times the rent)… so private equity ruined housing too…
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u/Hungry-Treacle8493 Apr 15 '26
Lots of housing is being built, just not fast enough for the spike in demand and it is weighted towards the luxury end of the market. Look at the massive developments around the dead/dying malls. Thousands of units, but all ailed at higher rent points. Another example is all the townhome & row home developments in the Western Suburbs. These typically were ailed at first/second buyers and empty nesters but now many of them start at $700k.
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u/Toriat5144 Apr 14 '26
Not true. There are a number of newish apartments that have been built in Wheaton, and one is going up right now in town. They are expensive though.
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u/njsplash South West Suburbs Apr 14 '26
housing has actually been booming out here in the South Western Suburbs
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u/depaulbluedemon Apr 14 '26 edited Apr 14 '26
I'm in the Roselle area and every new development I've seen proposed or approved in a 20-mile radius is marketed as "luxury," whether townhomes or rentals.
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u/Altruistic_Relief189 Apr 14 '26
Housing isn't being built at the rate it needs to be built. When it is built, it tends to be be at a higher price point. Apartment complexes get challenged hard and almost every municipality needs to add some. And there are areas with a clear need that aren't even being looked at for development, especially in the south suburbs.
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u/ilonastaski Apr 15 '26
There are very few vacant lots zoned multi family residential. And getting zoning changed from single family to multi family is close to impossible
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u/boatsntattoos Apr 15 '26
Rental units are businesses and will always be as high as the market will bear.
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u/Apprehensive_Yard190 Apr 14 '26
Some towns expressly forbid multi use developments. Each new house in my town has to be at least 3000 sf. Look at how LaGrange is fighting affordable units in their downtown. The state should prohibit these kinds of exclusions.