CHICAGO, IL - Four out of five neighborhoods with the highest rents in Chicago as of the end of Q2 saw increases this quarter, according to data from the second quarterly RentJuice Rent Index in Chicago. The analysis was today released by RentJuice, the online platform developed by real estate insiders that connects prospective renters, brokers and property managers to each other in real-time. The Index enables neighborhood comparisons in the Windy City by asking rents, availability date, unit configuration and – newly added this month – price per square foot and Walk Score.
Skyscraping Prices Downtown
With an average rent of $2,006, Streeterville edged West Loop ($1,959) out of the top spot for priciest neighborhood this quarter. At the end of June, the average rent in Streeterville was $1,981 and $1,991 in West Loop, the only neighborhood on Q2’s top five that didn’t see an increase this quarter.
Rent increased 0.43 percent on average in Chicago between June and September of this year. Lincoln Square saw a bigger percentage jump in rent than any other neighborhood in Chicago. In June, its average rent was $954. In September, this number had ballooned to $1,010 for a gain of 5.8 percent.
Pricing Spaces – Time to Trade Places?
Price per square foot data on Chicago’s rentals reinforces the fact that average asking rents are up downtown. In the Gold Coast ($2.71), Streeterville ($2.34), River West ($2.33), Loop ($2.33) and River North ($2.29), a dollar will buy the least amount of square footage. Neighborhoods like Lincoln Park ($1.80), on the other hand, have an even lower price per square foot than Chicago’s average ($1.97) and demonstrate their value with more than a calculator.
Chicago Is for Walkers
Chicago residents should invest in a good pair of walking shoes, because the average walk score for the city’s current availabilities is a high 89.6. Over half of Chicago’s available rentals have a walk score of 90 or higher, with nine in 10 scoring 80 or higher. River North has the top walk score at 97.7, followed by Gold Coast with a score of 95.8. None of Chicago’s neighborhoods scored below 65, except for the suburb Oak Lawn, which was measured at 63.8.
“The rental market has long been difficult to track, with listings shared disjointedly via fax and email for decades,” said RentJuice CEO David Vivero. “The RentJuice Rent Index sheds light on the Chicago housing market by pulling rental listings data directly from our online database where thousands and thousands of availabilities from large and small property owners are shared in real-time.”
Vivero continued, “We’re excited to help identify local market trends and equip potential renters with the knowledge they need to make well-informed decisions, as well as leasing offices with in-depth information to better assist clients.”
RentJuice’s core product is RentJuice Free, an online platform that allows property managers and landlords to instantly share their availabilities with partner agencies to shorten vacancies and improve communication. The Company also offers RentJuice Pro, a paid upgrade that provides agents, brokers and leasing offices a “virtual rental office.” From powering an agent’s Facebook page to offering outsourced data entry and enabling automatic ad syndication to more than 20 consumer websites such as Zillow and Trulia, RentJuice makes every step of the rental process simpler.
The white paper and data tables are available for download at RentJuice.
RentJuice was founded in 2009 by CEO David Vivero and CTO Kunal Shah and is led by a team that helped grow companies like Salesforce.com, Market Leader, Vimeo and CollegeHumor. The Company pioneered the online software category Rental Relationship Management (RRM) and currently serves the Boston, Chicago, Miami and New York markets.