DePaul Study Shows Strong Local Market for Multi-Family Building Rentals

A second quarter house price index released by DePaul University's Institute for Housing Studies has shown strong price increases for large multifamily rental buildings in Cook County.

However, the market for smaller multifamily rental buildings, single-family properties and condominiums have not seen a strong increase.

The IHS Cook County House Price Index, which is now available to the public, revealed that both smaller and larger multifamily building types had substantial price increases from 2000 to their peaks in late 2006, prior to steep price declines.

The larger multifamily rentals, with five or more units, have had the strongest price recovery of any property type since the market hit the bottom in 2010.

The buildings have had three consecutive quarters of price increases, and between the second quarter of 2011 and the second quarter of 2012, prices for large multifamily buildings have increased by over 30 percent.

Meanwhile, smaller rental buildings with two-to-four units are still at levels more than 55 percent below what they were at their peak.

The smaller multifamily buildings have seen very limited price recovery since reaching bottom in 2010, and prices at the end of the second quarter of 2012 were at pre-2000 levels.

Additionally, the Cook County single-family housing market has had quarter-over-quarter price increases in the past two quarters. Despite this, single family home prices in Cook County were down by 39 percent from their peak in 2006.

The IHS Cook County House Price Index examines quarterly price changes and allows for comparison in price trends for the four primary property types found in Cook County: single-family homes, condominium units, small multifamily rental buildings with two to four units and larger multifamily rental buildings with five or more units.

For more information, visit housingstudies.org.