Chicago's rental market showed strong momentum in Q1 2025, with rent prices trending upward and leasing activity accelerating across property types. Property managers reported steady or increasing applicant levels, reflecting healthy demand. Concessions declined from late 2024 highs, indicating a more balanced market, while days on market improved significantly. Rising rental inventory across all segments signals renewed confidence among property owners as the city heads into the busy spring leasing season.
Looking ahead, property managers are optimistic about pricing trends, with many expecting rents to hold steady or see slight increases. As the market enters peak season, the overall outlook remains positive, with strong fundamentals and continued momentum.
Continue reading for detailed insights into Chicago's rental landscape, including rent trends, leasing activity, property manager sentiment, and more.
In Chicago, 29% of property managers expect rent prices to rise over the next six months, while 70% anticipate prices will remain steady. Only 1% foresee a decrease, pointing to overall confidence in market stability or growth. When it comes to rental demand, 33% of property managers are seeing more applicants for available units, a notable increase that suggests growing interest or competition among renters. Meanwhile, 64% report applicant levels are about the same, and only 3% are seeing fewer applicants. These numbers indicate a strong and steady rental market in Chicago, with early signs of increasing demand.
In Q1 2025, 28% of Chicago rental listings included concessions, exactly in line with the national average. While this marks a notable decrease from Chicago’s peak of 35% in Q4 2024, it still reflects a market where landlords are using incentives more frequently than they did a year ago. The moderation suggests stabilizing conditions and a possible return to more balanced renter-landlord dynamics.
Chicago’s rental market gained efficiency in early 2025. Single family homes averaged just 17 days on market, significantly outperforming the national average of 23 days. Multifamily homes also leased quickly, averaging 20 days compared to the national average of 23. These improvements indicate heightened renter demand and faster decision-making compared to late 2024.
Rental prices in Chicago moved upward across most categories in Q1 2025. One-bedroom units reached $1,740, up from $1,711 in the previous quarter, while two-bedrooms rose to $1,925. Three-bedroom rents rebounded to $1,995 after softening at the end of 2024. Multifamily units climbed to $1,883, continuing a steady upward trend, while single family rents held steady at $1,500, suggesting more price stability in that segment.
Chicago saw a solid rebound in rental inventory across the board in Q1 2025. Three-bedroom listings increased by 13.9%, two-bedrooms by 14.6%, and one-bedrooms by 14%. Multifamily inventory jumped 15.5%, and single family homes saw a 10.6% increase. This broad rise in availability suggests renewed confidence among property owners and a stronger market entering the spring leasing season.
This guest chart, courtesy of Snaptimate, illustrates regional cost trends for a typical residential unit turnover. The sample scope is for an 800 single-family unit and includes interior painting, carpet replacement, and resurfacing a pressure-treated deck. While the Northeast remains the most expensive region, the West is rapidly catching up with a 3.8% quarter-over-quarter increase - the highest in the country. Turnover costs are rising nearly everywhere, with 95% of markets analyzed showing upward movement. In the Chicago market specifically, costs increased by 5%. In this work scope labor costs made up the bulk of the total, so wage inflation had the greatest impact on overall increases. The effect of tariffs on construction materials remains unclear, but it will be a key factor to watch in the coming quarters.
Rental data used in this report are sourced and catalogued directly by Rental Beast, unless otherwise noted. Rental Beast listing data covers a range of rental property types and owner types operating within the long-term rental market (generally considered to be leases with a minimum of three months). Single-family rentals (SFR) are considered to be properties with 4 or fewer units. Multifamily (MF) is more than 4 doors. Unless otherwise noted, our analysis uses the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL, metropolitan statistical area (MSA) as the geographical unit.
Unique listings counts are based on rentals that were on-market at any point during the stated period. Rents are calculated based on these listings. Days on market (DOM) and concession analysis are based on these listings, with some data sources excluded due to DOM and concession info being unavailable or deemed to be unreliable. Concessions are incentives that entice renters to sign a lease (e.g., one month free, a gift card, etc.).
Our sentiment survey is based on phone conversations during Q1 2025 with rental building and community managers and property managers. Questions and answer choices:
DISCLAIMER. This report attempts to provide reliable and useful information; however, there is no guarantee that the information or other content in this document is accurate, current or suitable for any particular purpose. All content is subject to change without notice. All content is provided on an “as is” basis, with no warranties of any kind whatsoever. Rental data used in this report are sourced and catalogued directly by Rental Beast, unless otherwise noted. Our analysis uses MSA as the geographical unit and is not reflective of all-U.S. measures. Information from this document may be used with proper attribution.
©2025 by Rental Beast
Snaptimate (www.snaptimate.com) is an app that delivers instant, localized cost estimates for residential repairs, replacements, and renovations—tailored specifically for real estate professionals. It is fueled by the same data trusted by contractors for more than 20 years in the nation’s #1 estimating platform.
