Chicago Multifamily Report – June 2025
Most fundamentals are improving.
Chicago’s multifamily sector started the new year on a positive note, with fundamentals at healthy levels, relative to the overall economic uncertainty. Average advertised asking rent growth recovered 0.5 percent, on a trailing three-month basis through April, to $2,011, 30 basis points ahead of the national rate. Following two years of strong supply expansion, the metro’s average occupancy for stabilized assets remained solid, at 95.9 percent in March, ahead of the 94.4 percent U.S. figure.
Employment growth showed signs of recovery after a tepid 2024, with the year-over-year rate clocking in at 0.8 percent in February, just 10 basis points behind the U.S. figure. Unemployment did not improve much, landing at 5.3 percent in March, according to preliminary data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Over the 12-month period ending in February, Chicago gained 8,300 net jobs, with education and health services (4,500 jobs) and government (3,400 jobs) leading growth. Vacant or underutilized office buildings are increasingly becoming potential candidates for multifamily conversions, especially with help from the LaSalle Corridor Revitalization program. So far, six projects have been approved, totaling $900 million in investments and 1,765 units.
In line with nationwide trends, development is slowing down after two solid years—Chicago added 1,277 units in the first four months of the year, while another 9,607 were under construction.
