Chicago & Midwest + Downtown + Finance | August 13, 2021

The City of Chicago's newly released The newly released Energy Benchmarking Report revealed a 25% reduction in carbon emissions by properties greater than 50,000 square feet

Chicago CRE Professionals Remain Optimistic, But Worries About Government Persist

In its 2021 Mid-Year Chicago Sentiment Report, The Real Estate Center at DePaul University says that nearly 60% of commercial real estate professionals are at least optimistic, if not bullish, about Chicago real estate for the next 18 months. However, concerns related to government—its basic effectiveness along with property tax uncertainty—also emerged as key themes.

“Capital is still flowing as investors remain optimistic,” said Charles Wurtzebach, Douglas and Cynthia Crocker Endowed Director of The Real Estate Center. “People know that traditional economic forces like oversupply and lack of demand did not cause the ‘pandemic downturn’. We were dragged into it kicking and screaming and we want it to be over.”

The perception of government ineffectiveness at local, county and state levels is of significant concern in Chicago’s CRE community. The ineffectiveness includes, but is not limited to, crime, school, pension liability and various other factors.

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DePaul Real Estate Center

About Paul Bubny

Paul Bubny serves as Senior Content Director for Connect Commercial Real Estate, a role to which he brings 13-plus years’ experience covering the commercial real estate industry and 30-plus years in business-to-business journalism. In this capacity, he oversees daily operations while also reporting on both local/regional markets and national trends, covering individual transactions across all property types, as well as delving into broader subject matter. He produces 15-20 daily news stories per day and works with the Connect team and clients to develop longer-form content, ranging from Q&As to thought-leadership pieces. Prior to joining Connect, Paul was Managing Editor for both Real Estate Forum and GlobeSt.com at American Lawyer Media, where he oversaw operations at both publications while also producing daily news and feature-length articles. His tenure in B2B publishing stretches back into the print era, and he has served as Editor in Chief on four national trade publications. Since 1999, Paul has volunteered as the newsletter editor of passenger rail advocacy groups (one national, one local).