Some fresh data out today that could help evaluate the plausibility of rent rates being proposed for new downtown Evanston developments and also be of use if you’re looking for a new apartment.
A website called RentHop.com has compiled data on the median cost of renting an apartment near — typically within one-eighth of a mile of — transit stations all across the CTA system.
We pulled out the data for the Purple Line running through Evanston and found that there’s a wide range of prices — from a high of $1,892 at the Foster Street station near the Northwestern University campus to a low of $1,325 near the South Boulevard stop at the south end of town.
And RentHop says asking monthly rents have risen north of Dempster Street over the past year, while they’ve fallen in the south end of town.
The RentHop data doesn’t distinguish between new construction and vintage units, which tend to rent for less. While there’s been some new construction all along the Purple Line in recent years, the heaviest concentration has been near the downtown Davis Street station.
South Evanston tends to have a higher concentration vintage units, while demand from Northwestern students tends to keep rent rates for even vintage units higher in north Evanston.
You can explore the entire RentHop database using the interactive map. You’ll find there are comparative rent bargains just across the Evanston city line in Chicago’s Rogers Park neighborhood.
hard to believe
That rents have fallen in South Evanston. I am amazed by the AMLI building. They charge over 3K per month for comparatively small appartments
AMLI
,,, actually, for the one-bedroom units that were the subject of this story, AMLI’s website indicates their prices hover around the $2K mark.
… they do list one 1,590 SF two bedroom plus den unit for $4,040, though.
— Bill
New expensive developments around Foster have increased rates
E2 has certainly increased the average rent, and what about the newish developments on Ridge and Emerson, on Green Bay and Emerson, and north on Ridge Ave, all using Foster. The beast of a development proposed for 831 Emerson will blow these averages out of the water. We DON’T need any more of these developer driven enormous micro unit luxury rentals. This bubble for miniscule units in a suburb will soon burst and we will have ruined our downtown. Plus, Evanston will soon be even more unaffordable for many.
Unclear
Hi NEevres,
It’s unclear to me how you conclude that new construction on a site that did not previously have any dwelling units makes Evanston “more unaffordable.” All the previously affordable units in the city remain available.
Second, if, as you claim, the “bubble” of micro units is about to burst, then they will inevitably become far more affordable as the demand for them collapses. That should make Evanston more affordable, not less.
— Bill