Property, Rentals, Transactions

The Boulder Group, a net leased investment brokerage firm, has completed the sale of a single tenant net leased Shopko Hometown property located at 110 Watters Drive in Dwight, Illinois for $2,115,000.

The spring market is in swing with steady gains in March median prices and modest growth in statewide home sales even as the housing supply is low for the season, according to the Illinois REALTORS

Mayor Rahm Emanuel, Alderman Danny Solis, and Planning and Development Commissioner David Reifman today announced a tentative settlement with the proposed buyer of Chicago’s old Post Office that establishes a strict timeframe for a private purchase and redevelopment project to move forward. The announcement follows Mayor Emanuel’s move in February to take control of the building through eminent domain due to its decades of neglect and deterioration

A Chicago couple was charged Monday in a scheme to use their health care business to defraud Medicare out of millions of dollars, while also conspiring to employ a woman against her will.

At an anniversary reception Monday celebrating 100 years of service and industry leadership, the Illinois Association of REALTORS® unveiled its new name, Illinois REALTORS®, and introduced the association’s new Executive Vice President Luke Bell.

Illinois REALTORS® has named Luke Bell as executive vice president for the 44,000-member trade association in Springfield. Bell, 34, joins Illinois REALTORS® having served in a variety of roles with the Kansas Association of REALTORS®, most recently as vice president of governmental affairs/general counsel. The Medicine Lodge, Kansas, native will begin his new role June 1.

Chief Judge for the Northern District of Illinois District Court Ruben Castillo will cut the ribbon to the new U.S. Probation Office for the Northern District of Illinois. With $1.4 million in annual projected rent savings, the new office is a modern workspace designed to accommodate the increasingly mobile work of U.S. Probation officers. A pilot project of the federal judiciary’s Integrated Workplace Initiative (IWI), the new office features an open concept with “touchdown” stations and “huddle rooms” with video conference features.

Randy Blankstein, President of the national net lease advisory firm The Boulder Group, will be the conference chair of the Midwest Real Estate News 2nd Annual Net Lease Summit Conference in Chicago on July 20th, 2016. Additionally, he will be moderating a panel at the conference discussing the state of the Net Lease Market

The Illinois Association of REALTORS® will send a delegation of members to an international real estate conference in March as part of an ongoing effort to promote cross-border investment in the state.

REALTOR® Chris Read, CRB, CRS, GRI, ABRM, CIPS, CNC, SFR, BPOR, SRS, SRES, of Woodridge, has been named the 2016 Illinois REALTOR® of the Year by the Illinois Association of REALTORS® (IAR). She is the Managing Broker/Owner of CR REALTOR® and is CEO of CR Strategies in Woodridge.

REALTOR® Edwin (Ed) Neaves has received the 2015 Illinois Association of REALTORS® (IAR) Political Involvement Award. Neaves is the managing broker of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Snyder Real Estate in Bloomington

“Low interest rates and improved employment made for a good year for the local residential real estate market,” said Keith Hancock, president of the North Shore-Barrington Association of Realtors® (NSBAR). “Median home prices were up more than 2 percent for the year compared to 2014, and the number of closed sales year-over-year increased nearly 4 percent.”

Illinois home sales and prices climbed higher in December and capped off a 2015 housing market that showed a return to a more balanced market with total year-end sales and median price gains surpassing 2014, according to the Illinois Association of REALTORS

“Medical related properties featuring long term leases with multiple rental escalations continue to be highly sought after amongst the investor community as they provide an inflationary hedge” said Randy Blankstein, President of The Boulder Group.

Illinois home prices posted continued gains with November marking 39 consecutive months of year-over-year increases while sales slowed slightly amid tighter inventory, according to the Illinois Association of REALTORS