It’s true that investment sales activity has slowed in commercial real estate markets across the country. Chicago is no exception. But the commercial real estate professionals who gathered Dec. 4 at Maggiano’s Little Italy in Oak Brook, Illinois, for Illinois Real Estate Journal’s Chicagoland Commercial Investment Summit, were optimistic that 2025 would be a stronger year for investment sales throughout the Chicago market.
And that optimism was reflected throughout the Summit, where a strong crowd listened to the predictions from the industry’s top professionals. The overall sentiment? Yes, 2024 was a challenging year for investment sales. But the Chicago commercial real estate market is too strong for this investment slowdown to continue.
The investors will return. And as interest rates stabilize and, hopefully, continue to fall, they will once again put their dollars into Chicago commercial real estate.
The first panel of the day, the Tax-Advantaged Investing and 1031 Exchanges panel, focused on key financial strategies that can help investors maximize their returns. Speaking on this panel were Jim Lockhart, Tax Partner, Real Estate | Aprio Advisory Group, LLC; Cameron Weil, Shareholder, Real Estate & Financial Services | Polsinelli; Jim King – Real Estate Tax Partner| Aprio Advisory Group, LLC; Kevin Collins, Northeast Real Estate Co-Leader, Tax Partner | Aprio Advisory Group, LLC; Mark Gross – National Account Executive | CSSI Services, LLC; and Jeannie Burke – Business Development Manager | First American Exchange Company.
Speakers on the Chicagoland Commercial Real Estate Investment Sales Update panel provided guests with plenty of key information regarding the status of the investment sales market in Chicago and its surrounding communities. The takeaway? Speakers expect a better year for investment sales in 2025. Speaking on this panel were Kevin Girard, Managing Director | JLL Capital Markets; Megan Barker, Associate | Cushman & Wakefield; Anthony Longo, Managing Partner | Alpha Capital CRE; Alissa Adler, Senior Vice President | Colliers; Mike Liyeos, Principal | Quattro Development; and Kirsten Bowersox, Chief Operating Officer | Xroads Real Estate Advisors.
The experts participating in the Lending Market and Equity Investing Update panel closed out the summit. Sharing their insights on this panel were Adam Firsel, Managing Principal | Core Acquisitions; Douglas Lyons, Managing Principal | Pearlmark; Mark C. Spears, Managing Director Group Head | CIBC Bank USA; Bennett Neuman, Chief Investment Officer | The Laramar Group LLC; Chris Ellis, Senior Director | Nuveen Green Capital; and Jerry Lumpkins, Senior Vice President-Midwest CRE Division Head | Valley National Bank.
