Why Chicago’s South Shore Real Estate Market Should Be On Your Radar in 2022

INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW

There are many neighborhoods to consider when looking to make a multifamily purchase in Chicago. Today, we wanted to highlight Chicago’s South Shore real estate market and touch on some reasons why we believe it should be on your radar as an investor. If you have any questions or would like to learn more about the market, please don’t hesitate to reach out to our team for more information, and check out our active listings.

NEIGHBORHOOD CHARACTERISTICS

South Shore is located approximately six miles south of the Chicago Loop along the shores of Lake Michigan. This culturally rich neighborhood is home to several attractions including Rainbow Beach and Rainbow Beach Park, the South Shore Cultural Center, and the Stony Island Arts Bank. Residents of South Shore have excellent access to public transit with five Metra Electric stops sprinkled throughout allowing for quick and easy access to downtown Chicago. Jackson Park, situated just north of South Shore, is the future home of the Barack Obama Presidential Center and current home of the Museum of Science and Industry, and the Jackson Park Golf Course.

According to the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning South Shore Community Data Snapshot, of the occupied housing units in South Shore, approximately 78% are renter-occupied, and multi-family housing makes up approximately 86% of the housing stock.

Essex Insight: Metrics like these are encouraging to multifamily real estate investors as it suggests the demand for rental housing is high.

RENT METRICS

Over the last 30+ years, Essex has collected data on multifamily properties located throughout the Chicagoland area. We have digitized thousands of property operating statements, rent rolls, and transaction sale metrics to create a robust database now capable of analyzing neighborhood trends.

Using our proprietary rental comparable database, we have reviewed average rents and annual rent growth rates for one- and two-bedroom apartments in South Shore (zip code 60649) over a 10-year period. Our data shows that the average annual non-compounding rental growth rate over the last 10-years is approximately 4% for 1 Bed/1 Bath apartments and 3% for 2 Bed/1 Bath apartments.