The rent is too damn high

I happen to have a copy of our condo declaration which includes Appendix I, a schedule of 1979 estimated monthly assessments, which is based upon the proposed annual income and expense projection for the year beginning March 1, 1979, the year our condo. association began operations.

For my particular unit, that amount was listed as $183.39. As of June 2015, my monthly assessment was $835.99 plus $40.80 for my bulk cable/internet service. So in the 36 years since our condominium association began operations, the assessment on my unit has increased by $652.60. Now, odds are that back 1979, I most likely would have subscribed to some sort of cable service, so let's leave the $40.80 out of the discussion for now.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, $183.39 back in 1979 would be the same as $598.71 in 2015. So my assessment is $237.28 over what it would have been if we factored in inflation only.

Now let's consider a recent listing found at Baird and Warner's web site for a 2 bedroom, 2 bath, 1250 square foot condominuim on a very high floor at Marina City. Comparable to my unit except that this unit is on a much higher floor, in a much more expensive area of the city.

Notice the asking price on the unit. My unit would sell for no more than $300,000 in today's market. My unit has 2 bedrooms and 2 baths and is 1250 square feet in size.

Notice the monthly assessments, $616, much less than what I'm paying today and $17 more than what I would be paying now if the amount charged to me today corresponded to the change in inflation since 1979.

Now why are the assessements at Marina City so much lower than ours?