Why some Chicagoans aren’t in a hurry to buy homes
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Casey Moore and his wife inherited money for a down payment, but they're not rushing to buy a house.
Why it matters: Home shoppers' budgets don't go as far as they did a few years ago.
- "Why would you give up a high-amenity building for 30% less house?," says Sam Tenenbaum of Cushman & Wakefield, a global real estate services firm.
What they're saying: Spending an extra several hundred dollars monthly on a mortgage payment and HOA fees "just to own something" near where Moore rents in the South Loop "seems ludicrous," Moore tells Axios.
- Instead, the couple redecorated their two-bedroom apartment, which boasts a shared basketball court and pool.
The big picture: Luxury apartments across Chicagoland are offering resort pools, pet spas, music and craft rooms and other perks, partly to woo the wealthy and those putting off home purchases.
- Some younger people also see maintaining a house or paying for homeowners' insurance and property taxes as burdens to avoid.
By the numbers: The average Chicago asking rent in larger properties with multiple units rose roughly 2.5% to $1,783 in Q2 from a year earlier, CoStar Group data shows.
- Although surging national apartment supply helped soften pandemic rent increases, prices remain unaffordable for many.
Reality check: Communal cold plunges aside, people who rent aren't building wealth the same as older generations. (They're investing more in stocks and retirement accounts.)
- Meanwhile, homeowners are getting rich after years of soaring house prices.