Brainerd: the south side neighborhood multifamily investors are overlooking

Brainerd is located on the far south side of Chicago, 13 miles from downtown and is frequently overlooked by apartment investors. With 89th Street to its north, the neighborhood spans from Robichaux (Joseph) Park to the east, U.S. Route 20 to the south and Beverly Blvd. to the west. The quiet neighborhood features mostly single-family homes and vintage apartment buildings. As the south side continues to see increased investor interest, Brainerd remains quiet compared to South Shore and other areas. With a stable, long-term renter base, you should consider looking at this neighborhood for your next investment. 

What does the average apartment look like in Brainerd?

Generally, the apartment stock in the neighborhood consists mostly of one-bedroom units with some buildings offering both one and two-bedroom floorplans. We have not underwritten any buildings with three-bedroom units in the area. One-bedrooms typically range from $700 to $925 per month with the average being near $800. Two-bedrooms range from $800 to $1,000 per month with $925 being the average rent. The buildings typically have large spacious units so some of them have converted one-bedroom units to two-bedrooms layouts.

What makes Brainerd an appealing area to invest?

Brainerd is a quiet neighborhood with a lot of single-family homes. The area has stable tenants without much turnover or difficulty in management. A lot of long-term Chicago residents like it because they are in the city and enjoy a suburban feel. Residents are connected to the city via CTA bus routes and a Metra stop. Numerous grocery stores, restaurants and retailers are located along Ashland Avenue and 95th Street. As investor interest picks up on the south side and some neighborhoods are pricing investors out, Brainerd can easily become a hot bed for investment activity.

Not many investors know of the area so right now it’s almost a  well-kept secret. If you have any questions about the available inventory in this area, please reach out.