Market Trends

A New York real estate investor paid $94 million for an apartment complex in north suburban Vernon Hills, another addition to the long list of suburban Chicago multifamily properties that have changed hands this year.

Below are seven items in the bill that could impact the industry, according to a report from Marcus & Millichap:

  If you own an apartment building in downtown Chicago, the grass looks a lot greener out in the suburbs right now. With developers adding thousands of apartments to the city skyline, the supply of downtown units is exceeding demand, dragging down rents. But that's not the case in the suburbs, where development also has surged, but not enough to weigh on the market....

Renter demand for apartments continued to accelerate in the third quarter of 2017 as the market absorbed more than 70,000 units and the overall national vacancy rate for U.S. apartments continued to trend lower after turning sharply up at the end of last year.

Growth in Lower End of Property Markets Continues Despite Declines in Absorption, Deal Volume

Sam Zell (pictured above) recently stated: “The real estate cycle is nearing its end” (Pensions & Investments, May 1, 2017).  We must admit that Sam had great timing when he sold his Equity Office REIT to Blackstone in 2007 which was the peak of the last cycle.Of course, Sam is also not afraid of real estate recessions.  He earned the title “The Grave Dancer” back in the early 90s when he bought properties at steep discounts from their replacement cost during the bottom of that cycle. So, what are the facts?