The Illinois Real Estate Journal hosted the 8th Annual Apartment and Multi-family Summit on Thursday, where industry experts discussed the state of the market, trends and predictions.
The keynote speaker was Gail Lissner who is Vice President of Appraisal Research Counselors. Lissner's consulting work has focused exclusively on the housing and multi-family market. During her presentation, she noted three trends–apartments are shrinking, co-living is on the rise and so is deconversion.
The first panel featured Michael DeRouin of Fitzgerald Associates Architects, Justin Pelej of Focus Development, Alan Lev of Belgravia Group, Aaron Galvin of Luxury Living Chicago Realty, Eric Bell of Marcus & Millichap and Todd Stofflet of KIG as the moderator.
They discussed the state of the suburban and city markets, what millennials and baby boomers are looking for and how the job market will dictate the demand. They also touched on high-end amenities such as "smart mirrors," and how politics play a role in the industry.
The second panel consisted of Lindsey Senn of Fifield Companies, Tracy Larrison of PNC Real Estate, Noah Gottlieb of PMG, Steven Ginsberg of Ginsberg Jacobs, Igor Zhizhin of American Street Capital and Ralph DePasquale of Berkadia as the moderator.
The panelists talked about Chicago's willingness to take on the planned manufacturing districts and how those areas could soon become hubs of activity. They also covered the controversies in co-living and the activity down Milwaukee Avenue.
