Chicago, IL Multifamily Market Report Q3 2026
Rent Reaches a Record $2,204; 2019 Delivery Peak Fades 54%
Demand
Chicago posted net absorption of -1,460 units in Q3 2026, against -3,600 in the same quarter last year. Vacancy is 3.4%, 12 bps tighter than Q3 2025. South Cook County is the tightest submarket at 2.1% vacancy; Indiana leads rent growth at +10.1%. Trailing-12-month absorption of 5,410 units is down from 14,157 a year earlier. Rent of $2,204 is up 3.2% year over year and a record. Vacancy sits 250 bps below the Q1 2021 peak of 5.9%.
Supply
Chicago recorded 1,727 units of completions in Q3 and 4,680 over the trailing twelve months (-14% versus the prior TTM period). Units under construction equal 1.7% of inventory, concentrated in The Loop at 5.5% of its stock. Annual completions peaked at 10,233 units in 2019. Q3 deliveries were 92% above last year’s 901. The 13,168-unit pipeline equals about nine and a half quarters of absorption at the trailing pace.
Investment Market
Chicago recorded $7.2B in sales over the trailing twelve months, +49% against the prior TTM period; Q3 accounted for $1.81B. The high-water mark in this series is $6.1B in 2022.
Chicago cap rates average 6.81%. Pricing sits at $224k per unit, higher for 2 consecutive years. The cap rate is 110 bps above the Q4 2021 low of 5.71%.
Volume
- $7.2B TTM volume (+49% YoY)
- Q3 2026: $1.81B
- Series peak $6.1B (2022)
Pricing
- Cap rate 6.81%
- Price per unit $224k
- Caps expanding 1 quarter running
