Is it just me or are apartments more expensive but also worse?
When will the housing market just ever be fucking normal?
Sorry for the delay in the newsletter this week (not going to acknowledge I’m usually late most weeks), I moved apartments this weekend which was a long and difficult process. In fact, the process of knowing my lease was not going to be renewed a third time, finding a new apartment, and moving into said new apartment was so time-consuming and stress-inducing that I can call it one of the worst things I have probably ever had to experience so far—and that’s taking into account that I moved back home to take care of my mom dying of brain cancer last year.
Why move at all if I never wanted to? Well, sometimes people who are “experts about money” will say things like, “Hey you homeowners, this is a great time in the ‘markets’ to sell your house for way more than you originally bought it for!” The original owner of the three-flat I lived in since 2021 was like, “Hey, I want to make more money on this house I just use as passive income!” and put it on the market, and then a wealthy young couple bought said property. They were nice enough to keep us on for a six-month lease, but my roommate and I could sense that we were not going to be allowed to stay longer. They had renovations and high rents in mind, and we were only paying $1,850 a month at the time.
In 2021, when my roommate and I first decided to live with each other, the process to find a reasonable apartment in a neighborhood you wanted to live in was pretty easy. We looked at exactly one apartment which had parking, central air, a dishwasher, and reasonably-sized bedrooms and took it within a day. It’s only been three years since the last time we had to look for an apartment so it couldn’t be too hard, right? I make a little more money now so things in the same neighborhood would still be reasonably affordable, right?
Wrong.
Apartment hunting in 2024 is a new kind of fresh hell, especially when trying to find a dog-friendly apartment in Lakeview for some reason. Three years ago, apartments that were listed as two-bedrooms could be found for $2,000 a month or less and the bedrooms were both a size that could house two separate human beings. This year, two-beds went for an average of $2,500 and only one “bedroom” could fit a bed while the other one was definitely meant for an office or a baby. The only apartments on the market seemed to be made for two people who split the bills and also want to have sex with each other which is simply not the reality my roommate and I are willing to experience. Where did all the bedrooms for two single people go? Not everyone in Chicago is in a beautiful, loving relationship with a penchant for minimalism!
After weeks of viewing expensive dud apartment after expensive dud apartment, we found one that wasn’t absurd in price and made up for in bedroom space what it lacked (air conditioning and a dishwasher). It’s an objectionably worse apartment than the one we were living in, but that’s the reality of the renter’s market these days: you’re gonna have to pay more to get something just a little worse than what you’re used to. If you want to stay in the area, you must give up comfort. If you want to pay an affordable rent, you probably are going to have to live so, so far from a train line or any place you enjoy going to on the regular.
It’s not just me, a sucker who chooses to live in Wrigleyville for some reason, who is experiencing the audacity of landlords in the city. I had one friend in Logan Square who got shafted on a lease signing because the landlord tried getting a higher deal from someone else, while another pair of friends in the same neighborhood basically got forced to not renew their lease because their previously chill landlord decided to raise the rent by $600 the next year. It’s also been reported that Chicago’s rents are increasing at a higher rate than any other city in the country right now. If you look in any apartment finder and try to find a one-bedroom (or even studio!) that is less than $1,500 in the most popular neighborhoods (i.e. the ones that are most accessible by public transit), you’ll be lucky to find two listings, maybe.
What’s happening here? How has it gotten this bad in just a few years? If anything, Chicago was always a city where you could find a decently-priced apartment in a decent area if you just did a little bit of digging. Now, it seems impossible. We haven’t gotten to NYC-level prices yet, but it feels like it’s creeping up faster than I would like it. Even better, rent control has been banned state-wide since 1997, so there aren’t even any laws that can prevent landlords from raising rents by hundreds of dollars every year just because they feel a little silly. The sad reality is that they can just keep raising the rents higher and higher because there’s always someone who is willing to pay whatever absurd price it’s listed at.
The unit above my old apartment was a three-bedroom that went for $2,200—a reasonable price for a three-bedroom apartment. When the new owners renovated it, it was originally listed at $3,600, over a third more than the original price. Sure, there were two bathrooms and in-unit laundry now, but the square footage of the place didn’t change and that means that the three college girls (more likely their parents) living up there were paying $1,200 each to live in the tiniest little coat closets with a kitchen that was supposed to be a living room. That’s a stupid layout for a stupid price, and yet, there’s always some rich sucker who is willing to pay that stuff.
After reading all this, you might think to yourself, “Renée, of course renting in the city is going to be expensive! If you want to save money, you should consider getting an apartment out in the suburbs where it’s bound to be cheaper.” And to that, I would have to ask you if you’ve ever been aware of your surroundings or had a thought in your head in your entire life. Because let me tell you, the renting market is even worse (or at least comparable) out there, and you also have to have a car to do anything. Did you know car payments and car insurance is expensive? Using your legs is free. My dad has been renting from the same guy for over ten years and the rent has never changed and after my mom died we thought it might be smart to downsize a bit, but one-bedroom apartments in the suburbs cost the same as this three-bedroom house he already lives in! What’s even the point of anything!
My new apartment is fine, with a little work it could even become a home. The siding is falling off one side and it makes a very loud clanging noise in the wind. The coin laundry uses more coins than my old place and the dryer kind of sucks. I love the outdoor deck but I do fear that I might fall through it one of these days. The reason why this place is still affordable, the broker told me, is that the owner of the building just doesn’t want to be bothered with renovations. Let’s just hope in the next few years that he doesn’t want to make a quick buck while the market’s hot.
The Ghost Rats are bringing our Date Night show to the Blackout Cabaret at Second City in May! Get tickets here!