CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- Chicago's downtown has undergone significant changes since the pandemic, from office overhauls to the ways people get back-and-forth each day.
But how has the residential rental market reacted to the challenges of COVID and where is it now?
Meghan Luffred started working in real estate in August of 2020 - a time when the rental market like so much of the economy was trying to stay afloat as many people lost jobs and shifted to working from home.
The pandemic meant downtown apartment buildings were offering deals, she said.
"Right now, rental rates are...let's just call it a two bed in a luxury highrise. Anywhere in downtown, it be around $4,000," she explained. "At the time of the pandemic, I was moving people into those apartments for $2,000."
That was enticing for Marko Milosevic and his wife, who moved from Schaumburg into a Loop highrise with a pool, gym, theater and more amenities and they were even offered three months of free rent.
"It was actually pretty good situation on the market with the Loop rental situation, because not a lot of people were moving in the Loop," he said. "They were moving out of the Loop."
The couple renewed once and then headed north to Bucktown for more space and also because their downtown building got more expensive.
"It was a laughable figure when I saw it. There was no circumstances under which we would make the decision to stay," Milosevic said.
Luffred isn’t seeing these type of moves a lot these days.
"I'm still seeing a lot of those clients riding on those COVID deals, because they look at the market elsewhere and they're like 'why would I pay double what I'm paying now," she said.
"It has gone up a little bit obviously. Some buildings have completely skyrocketed their rates. They don't care that you've lived their for two years."
Luffred is now a broker of luxury rentals and condos with At Properties and said many others are opting to stay put, which means the rental market is really competitive.
She advises renters hoping to move downtown now to look immediately "as soon as they go on the market and be ready to jump on something as soon as possible."
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