A broker-tipster emailed us yesterday expressing skepticism about published apartment vacancy rates and stating that “the MLS rental inventory is HUGE. I mean HUGE.” He enclosed a spreadsheet with 12 listings in a single River North condo building.
We checked the MLS-listed inventory of rentals at the site we consistently use for information and found that the number of rentals in ZIP Code 60654 was essentially unchanged year-over year.
We also did an updated check of the 14 downtown ZIP Codes that we monitor and found 934 listings, a 23.4% decline over the 1,220 listings at this time last year.
As you’d expect, the overall numbers mask substantial variability among ZiP Codes. The rental inventory in ZIP Code 60608 (University Village, Pilsen) nearly doubled, from 25 to 48.
Other Zip Codes showed substantial declines in available rentals: 60601, 46.9%; 60602, 45%; 60611, 39.6%; and 60616, 31.6%.
We don’t have information about whether these numbers mirror the overall strength of the downtown apartment market, or whether they represent withdrawal of condo and single-family units from the rental market in a stronger for-sale market.
Note: MLS-listed rentals consist primarily of condos and single-family homes. The ZIP Codes included in this post are 60601, 60602, 60603, 60604, 60605, 60606, 60607, 60608, 60610, 60611, 60616, 60622, 60654 and 60661.