Downtown rentals through MLS up 28% in 2010

Appraisal Research Counselors, like YoChicago, is keeping tabs on the number of downtown homes listed for rent through the MLS.

From the 4Q 2010 Downtown Chicago Residential Benchmark Report:

Condos for rent on MLS — The number of condos rented in 4Q10 was the highest fourth quarter volume recorded in our survey history — 985 units. What is interesting is the continued decline in condos listed for rent. The current level of listings is only 57% of the number of units listed a year ago. We expect this is in part due to the continued decline in new product entering the market.

Over the past 12 months, 5,718 units were leased downtown (the highest one year period since we began formally tracking the shadow market) via the MLS compared to 4,483 units in the prior 12 month period — a 28 percent increase.

We continue to see condo rentals as providing notable competition to the traditional rental market. Access to rental information is readily available on the Internet, creating a highly informed renter with regard to options in the market. Listings on Craigslist continue to permeate the market. Apartment owners and leasing brokers are also making extensive use of Craigslist for traditional rental buildings. In fact, there are so many units listed on Craigslist that we believe this source has become less effective for prospective tenants due to the number of choices and difficulty to sort the data that is constantly being uploaded into the system.

The level of unit finishes and building amenities in the larger rentals recently delivered are providing a compelling alternative to the high end finishes in condo product. Large scale fitness centers and social meeting space are very attractive to the target age demographic of the typical renter and these features are typically not available, at least to the same scale, at the condo product.

Every Friday we record the number of condos, townhomes, and single-family homes listed for rent in 14 downtown ZIP codes at Google Docs.

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