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@properties moving into luxury rental market

by Chelsea Niaz

The largest independent residential brokerage firm in Illinois is setting its sights on Chicago’s luxury apartment market.

@properties recently acquired two apartment brokerage firms, StudentSpace and MedResidences, and created a full-service luxury apartment rental division, according to an announcement made by founders Thaddeus Wong and Michael Golden. The announcement comes as Chicagoans — especially millennials — increasingly prefer renting to owning, and as builders seek to meet the demand.

“Luxury rentals is a huge market and it’s also a natural catalyst for future for-sale business as more luxury renters transition into homeownership,” Golden said in a statement. “Adding these business lines allows us to introduce @properties to clients earlier in the continuum of real estate services and forge strong connections to our brand.”

The new division with @properties will be named “Chicago Luxury” and will have a focus on higher-end renting as well as tenant and landlord services, the company said.

Capturing a growing market

@properties move into the rental market comes at an opportune time. The rental market is booming: developers added 6,888 units  through the first quarter of 2017, compared to just 3,762 in the same time last year. Many of the units – 4,837 of them – rose in the city’s more affluent submarkets like the Gold Cost, River North and the Loop.

The boom is not expected to stop anytime soon. Appraisal Research Counselors expects 5,000 Chicago apartment completions while 8,000 luxury apartments are expected within two years. @properties is interested in being a part of this 28 percent apartment increase.

The rise in apartment construction presents a wider range of clientele which @properties hopes to serve, including young people who are choosing to live in apartments before buying a house.

“We’re looking to expand our rental business alongside our for-sale brokerage business, and we believe we can offer a higher level of service to today’s renters and landlords, as well as the brokers who serve them,” Wong said.

The brokerage firms @properties acquired had experience in targeting urban, educated millennials. @properties bought StudentSpace and MedResidences, which help graduate students and medical professionals find apartments in the Chicago area. Tyler Roth co-owned both companies and remains onboard as the new president of @properties’ Rental Division.

“Between its innovative marketing and technology and its vast network of brokers, @properties offers the best platform to scale these services and become the premier rental brokerage in the city,” Roth said. “I’m excited to join the team and help take the company’s rental business to the next level.”

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