Speed: How 61 Chicagoland Rentals Leased in Under 10 Days

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Author: Mark Ainely | Partner GC Realty & Development & Co-Host Straight Up Chicago Investor Podcast

Every property manager has those turnovers that just click. The tenant gives notice, you list the unit, and before you've even scheduled a second showing, you've got a signed lease and someone moving in. It feels like luck when it happens.

But relying on luck is not a good business plan. After 23 years in property management, our success has been anything but luck. We analyzed GC Realty & Development 2025 leasing data and found clear, repeatable patterns that separate the fastest leases from everything else.

Out of all our 2025 move-ins, 61 properties (15.5% of our portfolio) went from on-market to move-in in 10 days or fewer. The average for this group? Just 5 days. Compare that to the roughly 30-day average everywhere else.

Because we love the stories our data tell us, we looked into the commonalities among these “speed champion” properties. What made these accelerations possible (and how could we replicate and advise others on how to do the same)?

The answer has changed how we think about the leasing process.

The Single Biggest Factor: Pre-Leasing

This may seem obvious, but pre-leasing is rare among investors. Yet, 60.7% of our units that conveyed from lease signing to move-in in under 10 days were pre-leased. That means the property had a signed lease even before it hit the market. 

The outgoing tenant gave notice; we started showing the unit while it was still occupied; and a new tenant committed before the property was technically vacant. Since all the hard work was done, the only things left were a few days of turnover projects before the new tenants could move in.

For comparison, of the leases that took longer than 10 days from lease signing to move-in, only 7.5% were pre-leased. In some of these cases, our team had to conduct more extensive turnover repairs. 

Pre-leasing may seem like a minor operational tweak to show rentals before the outgoing tenant vacates. But it is increasingly common and makes a huge difference in ROI. Pre-leasing is the difference between a 5-day turnover and a 37-day turnover. And as we all know, a vacant property costs you money every single day.

If you don’t aggressively pre-lease every possible unit, you leave weeks of rent on the table with every single turnover. By the way, this also forces your turnover team and their operation to 10x its game.  

Location Patterns (City vs. Suburb)

Of course, not all pre-leases are equal. Some locations just lease faster than others. When we look at the difference between Chicago and its suburbs, the suburbs win nearly every time. 

City vs. Suburbs Speed Champion Breakdowns

Suburb tenants tend to move faster and more decisively than city tenants.

Closer Look at Suburb Speed Champion Rates

But the real insight comes from drilling down into the performance by specific municipalities. We looked at areas where we signed at least five leases in 2025. The percentage of speed champions becomes very telling on locations open to pre-leasing practices and demand for rentals: 

Half of all Forest Park leases (roughly 9 units) were speed champions with move-ins within 10 days of lease signing. Streamwood came in at 40%. Meanwhile, despite having more total leases, Chicago proper converted only 12.4% of its leases in 10 days or fewer.

[Download: Where to Invest in the Chicago Market: The Suburbs Edition]

Timing Is Everything

Above and beyond pre-leasing practices with your team, you can tip the scales more in your favor by timing things better. You don’t need to consult an astrology chart; just check out what our data showed for our portfolio! 

Time of Year Considerations

Seasonality plays a massive role in how quickly properties lease. Here's the rate by quarter:

Q1 is as brutal as Chicagoland’s notorious winters. Only 3.1% of first-quarter move-ins hit this crazy fast pace. But Q2 jumps to 21%, nearly seven times the Q1 rate. We cover other seasonal rate considerations in Leasing Number Days on Market. We also offer ways to recalibrate your leases to coincide with those times of crazy-fast pace. 

Time of the Month Effect (Not that Time)

Not every lease has to start at the first of the month. If you stick to this date (because you think you have to or because it’s easier), you’re likely slowing down your turnover process. Instead, our 2025 data showed that starting a lease on pretty much any other day of the month got tenants into properties faster. We speculate why in our first-of-the-month analysis, but it reinforces what we found: tenants who insist on that clean start date add days to your vacancy.

Only 14.8% of the units with quick move-ins signed leases to begin on the first of the month. That’s roughly half the rate of our overall portfolio. Our advice? Don’t accept additional vacancy days (and lost rent income) because it’s not that time of the month to move in. 

Down to the Day Signing Patterns

Rental units where tenants sign and then move in quickly follow a weekly pattern, too. Tenants who signed on specific days of the week moved in quickly. Even more interesting, 80.3% of those leases were signed within three days of the property hitting the market. 

When did they sign? Thursday dominated:

The Ultra-Fast: 5 Days or Less

In our dataset, 34 properties went from market to move-in in 5 days or less. These ultra-fast turnovers share even more extreme characteristics:

• Almost all were pre-leased. Properties in this category were overwhelmingly secured before vacancy.

• Suburban concentration was even higher with Elgin, Geneva, Schaumburg, and Streamwood making repeated entries on the ultra-fast list.

• Summer dominance. The majority of ultra-fast turnovers happened between May and September.

The Bottom Line for Your Operations

At GC Realty & Development, we make data-driven decisions to drive our business. Lease signings followed by quick move-ins are not random. They’re the result of pre-leasing discipline, seasonal awareness, and operational flexibility on move-in dates. As we advise clients on market selection for new properties, we also consider location. 

And that discipline adds up. The gap between a 5-day and 30-day turnover is roughly a full month of rent. On a $2,000 unit, that's a couple of grand in revenue difference per turnover.

If you want to see quicker turnaround times on the rentals in your portfolio, we offer a few suggestions below based on our data.

Pre-Lease Everything

This is non-negotiable. Start marketing 45-60 days before move-out. Show occupied units. Get commitments before vacancy begins. The 60.7% vs. 7.5% pre-leasing gap between these quickly leased units and regular leases tells you everything you need to know.

Target the Right Suburbs 

If you're buying in markets like Forest Park, Streamwood, Elgin, or Geneva, you’re playing with favorable odds. Chicago properties can absolutely have a quick turnaround time, but the probability is lower.

Time your Turnovers

Do whatever you can to avoid Q1 vacancies. Offer lease renewal incentives, short-term extensions, anything to push turnovers into April-August. The seasonal difference isn't marginal; it’s 3% vs. 21%.

Stop Defaulting to First-of-the-Month Move-Ins 

Train your leasing team to push for immediate move-ins. When a unit is ready on the 18th, get someone in on the 20th. Don’t wait two weeks for the calendar to flip; that just leaves money on the table. 

Staff for Thursday-Friday Signings 

Your leasing team's availability at the end of the week moves tenants in faster. Motivated tenants will sign leases on Thursday after touring rentals earlier in the week. According to our data, those Thursday leases also translate into faster move-ins.

Target Weekend Move-Ins 

Schedule your turnover completion for Thursday at the latest. You want that unit photographed and listed by Friday morning, ready for weekend showings that convert to same-weekend move-ins. With the right processes and staffing in place, you minimize vacancy to just a few days. 

[Download: The Survival Guide for Self-Managers]

Don’t Want To Go At This Alone?

We’ve shared a lot of information here on investing in real estate locally in Chicagoland. If you live outside the area and want to invest in the Chicago market, this can feel overwhelming. But we really just look at it as a team sport.

Who’s on your investing team? Do you even have a team? GC Realty & Development, LLC has a dedicated team of professionals with decades of experience across all facets of real estate investment. We handle everything from brokerage, leasing, and property management. Whether you hire us or not, we’re happy to provide our resources and expertise.

What gets me up in the morning and keeps me going 12 hours a day is the ability to add value to local area investors in Chicago and beyond! Those who connect with me often hear me say that our goal is to bring value to everyone we come in contact with.

We hope that in return, they will one day hire us for our tenant placement or property management services, refer us to someone they know, or leave a review about our services. We would clearly love all three; however, we’re happy whenever we get the opportunity to help!

Reach out today!

Partner / Co-Host of Straight Up Chicago Investor Podcast