Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker has detailed a new approach to reopening the state’s economy in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. The plan is to divide the state into four discrete “health regions” that may be treated differently depending on how well they’re doing in controlling the spread of the virus. It’s not a case of one size fits all. The four regions, including metro Chicago, the northwest part of the state, Central Illinois and Southern Illinois will be judged by various health-related metrics, he said. But each will have “the ability to independently move through a phased approach of reopening, based on those criteria.” With his announcement, Pritzker is moving towards the positio

The U.S. government often says it cares but then it doesn’t act. But the CARES Act, the rescue package that Congress passed in March actually cares! To address a potential destabilization in the multifamily rental market, the Federal Housing Finance Agency ("FHFA"), through the CARES Act, has created protective orders that will benefit tenants and landlords of multifamily properties with federally backed mortgages. This approach will avoid evictions and foreclosures that would likely happen when state courts reopen. Included in this legislation is a national 120-day eviction moratorium that went into effect on March 27, 2020. There is also good news for multifamily property owners who hold f

It seems like every month, Amazon is getting ready to expand their warehousing in Chicagoland. Case in point: the e-commerce giant plans to open three more big warehouses in University Park, Kenosha and Channahon, adding to a rapidly expanding distribution network that already employs nearly 15,000 people. Since September 2019, the Seattle company has cut deals for industrial buildings in Palatine, Downers Grove, Skokie. Melrose Park and Chicago’s South Side. An Amazon spokesman confirmed the company plans to employ 800 full-time workers at the University Park site and 500 workers at the Channahon location. Read on HERE Mr. Willig engages and coordinates a professional team of real estate br

The news was inevitable. In Chicago, sales of newly built homes fell in the first quarter, stymied by the arrival of the Covid-19 crisis in March, typically the strongest month of the year for home sales. In the first three months of 2020, builders sold 994 new homes locally, down more than 12% from the first quarter of 2019. That was a bit better than the nationwide drop of 15.6%. Erik Doersching, executive vice president at Schaumburg-based Tracy Cross said, “March is usually about 15% of the year’s sales. But this year, March was when everything was shutting down and people stopped in their tracks.” By April, he said, some builders "had rebooted with a new way of doing sales” and might sh

As bleak as the economic news has been during this pandemic, there are certain sectors that may rebound quite quickly once Covid-19 fades way. According to a recent article in National Real Estate Investor, the single-family rental (SFR) sector is well-positioned for a rebound once widespread economic activity resumes. “In the post-Covid-19 future, I think we will see even more people opt to rent homes instead of buying,” says Doug Brien, CEO and co-founder of Mynd Property Management, a property management firm. “In times of financial and healthcare crises, people tend to struggle paying their mortgages, making their car payments, etc. Renting is a simpler, more desirable option for many pe

If you’re a property owner, you’re already feeling the crunch as some tenants, hit hard by the pandemic, are struggling to pay the rent on time. Marcus & Millichap, major players in real estate brokering, recently released a report on the state of rental properties and how landlords can best navigate the choppy waters ahead. Even though landlords were very anxious about last month’s rental collections, studies reveal little or no change in rental income since March. Of the total amount rent owners expected, the difference between March and April was less than 10%. And despite worsening economic news, they anticipate that landlords will collect 83% of their potential rent in May. It seems tha

The ravages of Covid-19 are pervasive. It has closed down most of our economy; and even as some states try to carefully reopen, the delivery of necessities like hand soap, baking flour and grocery items has revealed a yawning challenge: how can deliveries keep up with increasing demand? Look no further than Chicago. With its big population, central location and easy access to shipping by air, rail, waterways and interstates, Chicago is a key hub in an increasingly global supply chain. According to Jason Tolliver, the Indianapolis-based research leader of brokerage Cushman & Wakefield’s industrial business in the Americas, “Chicago is the largest industrial market in the country. It is the li

In response to the scourge of Covid-19 and its wrecking ball effect on the economy, the federal government passed a $2-trillion aid package targeting taxpayers and businesses. While imperfect, the aid package comes at a time when the nation’s unemployment rate soars towards levels not seen since the Great Depression. Greystone, a major player in real estate financial services, has put out a report highlighting some of the benefits Illinois residents will receive. In Chicago, a person making an average weekly salary of $1346 will receive the maximum weekly unemployment benefit of $488 plus an additional $600 per week when the Federal aid package kicks in later. In a 39-week period, the averag