Know Your Chicago Neighborhoods
Sidebar to January 2020 Regional Spotlight: Why Chicago Works for Investors in 2020
One thing you will hear repeatedly from real estate investors with capital in Chicago is to “know your neighborhood.”
For Scott Larson, vice president at Chicago-based bridge lender Pangea Mortgage Capital, that means his company focuses on certain areas of south and west Chicago. For Mike Wojcik, chief marketing officer at Fay Servicing LLC, it means identifying areas in the city proper and surrounding suburbs where market appeal is steady, and homeowners and investors will find financing available.
“There are lots of great places in Chicago to live, but you have to understand what our residents find interesting and appealing,” Wojcik said. “That is absolutely necessary for cracking this market.”
Regardless of what type of properties any Chicago investor is interested in, however, there is one topic of conversation they all agree on: The pending arrival of the Barack Obama Presidential Library is going to be good for Chicago.
“The Obama Library will be located in Jackson Park,” Larson said. “That is obviously going to be a really long-term driver in the market.”
Larson revealed that Tiger Woods is helping redesign a golf course in the same area of the city, which has created a particularly hot submarket in the area between the future location of the presidential library and the location of the golf course.
“Just north of the South Shore area, there is a lot of long-term investment happening,” he said.
Ishay Grinberg, president of Rental Beast, Inc., emphasized the importance of having all the information possible about local neighborhoods and localized rental trends before making an investment.
“I wish every investor understood just how little transparency investors have when it comes to rental inventory and just how big of a problem this poses,” he said. Grinberg said investors should consider how to price the amenities the property needs to stay competitive, demographic information and relevant consumer behavior when investing in a rental.
