Apt prices in Chicago (Irving, Astoria: apartments, for rent, condo)

[greenlite]

Just wondering about apt prices. How much is 1 bd with parking, laundry in unit? Not luxury, just regular.

[marothisu]

Well there's a few things at play here - parking, and laundry in unit. At least speaking from a purely laundry in unit perspective, there's a lot of both new and old housing units in Chicago, and while the number of old outweighs the new.. most of the old ones do not have in-unit laundry. The older condo buildings? Maybe, but an apartment even built in the 1970s or 1980s? Probably not. However, there are many options of more private residences and also newer apartment/condo buildings (which are usually luxury) that will have it. Something with in-unit laundry is going to cost more than the average in all likelihood unless it's a really small landlord who is being nice. You'll find that most places with in-unit w/d are at least decently nice.

So here's some examples. I'm going to show places that are NOT in high rises downtown:
* $1150/mo = 3710 N Pine Grove Ave APT 216, Chicago, IL 60613 is For Rent - Zillow
* $1195/mo = Chicago Apartments | 3548 N WOLCOTT AVE #G | Domu Chicago
* $1400/mo (2 bedrooms) = View 6 photos of this $1,400/m... Chicago, IL 60622 is For Rent - Zillow
* $1600/mo = 1025 W Wolfram St, Chicago, IL 60657 is For Rent - Zillow

For high rises, it's probably on the low end $1500, on average $1700, and up from there. For example:
* 1530/mo = 420 East Ohio - East Ohio | Chicago, IL Apartments for Rent | Rent.com®
* 1600/mo = Astoria Tower - East Ninth Street | Chicago, IL Apartments for Rent | Rent.com®
* 1750-1800 = One Superior Place - West Superior Street | Chicago, IL Apartments for Rent | Rent.com®


Parking is another thing. If you live in the downtown area, you'd have to get parking in your building's parking ramp, which can cost anywhere from $175 - $300/month. When you go outside of this area, some of the high rises may be from $150/month. However, there is street parking which is free in some areas and in other areas is zoned and $25/year. Some low rise places may even include parking with it if you're lucky. Sometimes they have private alley parking in back of the building (or a garage) for like $50-$100/mo.

[greenlite]

So in other words $1300+. Is it cheaper in the nearby suburbs?

[marothisu]

Well, I just showed a few areas - which are the more desirable locations to some people (a lot of nightlife, food, shops, great public transit). I should say that there are numerous areas of Chicago where owning a car isn't necessarily needed, but it's easier to have a car here versus NYC. You'll find many people without cars though. I'd say $1200+/month and you can find some for less from more private landlords (i.e. condo/home owners) sometimes.

Suburbs I'm not sure, but your parking will probably be free or really cheap there since the suburbs are less dense than a lot of areas of Chicago and also more car oriented (you can get cheap/free on street parking in the city too). My guess is that in some of the suburbs, it could be $900-$1000/month for what you're looking for, but I'm only speaking from experience from some of my friends who live in the suburbs. There is a suburbs forum on this site too you could ask.

[ToriaT]

I am pretty sure you can get apts cheaper than this but they will not be as nice and not be in the more desirable neighborhoods. When I was looking for a friend I found some rents in complexes in the suburbs to be 900 dollars or so. Parking is free in lots mostly in the burbs.

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by ToriaT

I am pretty sure you can get apts cheaper than this but they will not be as nice and not be in the more desirable neighborhoods. When I was looking for a friend I found some rents in complexes in the suburbs to be 900 dollars or so. Parking is free in lots mostly in the burbs.

The key to this is in unit w/d. With that usually comes more expensive properties than normal. You could get a normal 1 bedroom apartment for cheaper than these, yes.

[Freefall18]

Why is an in unit w/d so important to you? You don't want to schlep to the basement to do your laundry? If this is an important requirement, it'll pretty much rule out all older buildings and hence your rent will be higher.

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by Freefall18

Why is an in unit w/d so important to you? You don't want to schlep to the basement to do your laundry? If this is an important requirement, it'll pretty much rule out all older buildings and hence your rent will be higher.

Most buildings don't even have it in the basement. It's usually in the 1st and 2nd floors, especially in high rises who rarely even have a basement you can go to. Personally, my laundry room is on the 2nd floor.

[Lorielicious]

Originally Posted by ToriaT

I am pretty sure you can get apts cheaper than this but they will not be as nice and not be in the more desirable neighborhoods. When I was looking for a friend I found some rents in complexes in the suburbs to be 900 dollars or so. Parking is free in lots mostly in the burbs.

You can get nice units with in-unit washer/dryer for far less than $1300 if you don't insist on living in Lakeview, or wherever. Someone I used to know has a pretty sweet-ass one bedroom in Irving Park with granite kitchen counter tops, a small deck, and in-unit laundry for like $950/mo. I suppose the catch is there's nothing exciting about where he lives. It's a perfectly nice and safe neighborhood, but it's not hopping or filled to the brim with the cool kids. So it really boils down to where you want to live. You can still live in the city in a nice neighborhood and find what you seek for under $1,000, just not if you want to live in transplantville.

[marothisu]

^ Yep. Unfortunately they're snatched up pretty quickly usually because they're great deals. Nothing wrong with Irving Park either, but it's always funny when people act as if a neighborhood like that is like a suburb.