CHICAGO-It’s clear that apartments are the most preferred assetin the Chicago area, with vacancy for the city and suburbs hoveringaround 6.5%, according to a third quarter Marcus & Millichapmarket report. However, even low vacancy is having trouble pushingrents off their stable position, new development is non-existentand there’s still not good enough lending for large purchases.

Deals still exist, says Stephen Rachman, a VP of investments forthe company. “Multifamily debt has never been more attractive. Iwould argue we’re in a seller’s market,” he says. “Demand is led bywell-located assets, which sets off a bidding frenzy.”

The demand is fueled by the job market, which should see about40,000 positive new jobs this year, according to the report. Thiscompares to the loss of 234,400 jobs in the Chicago area in 2009.However, the job growth is going slow, with only almost 7,000 newjobs added in the first half.