Huge property acquisition for M/I Homes
This week, the Chicago office of M/I Homes announced that the Ohio-based company recently acquired a large collection of land assets from Taylor Morrison’s Chicago division. The acquisition represents a significant expansion for their Chicagoland portfolio, involving 228 entitled home sites and four model homes. The specific sites include a raw land tract in downtown Arlington Heights known as Sigwalt 16 and Meadow Square, land that’s currently under development in Rolling Meadows. The company noted in a press release that the change of hands shouldn’t cause any delays in the delivery process.
“M/I Homes has such a strong presence in Chicago that some people may forget we started out here in 2007 by building in previously owned communities,” said Rick Champine, area president of M/I Homes. “This is very familiar territory that we have a proven track record of navigating successfully. Our goal is to preserve the original vision of these communities and essentially pick up where Taylor Morrison left off, so it will be a seamless transition for existing residents.”
Exclusive Look launches in Chicagoland
In a reaction to the National Association of Realtors’ recent rule change regarding pocket listings, Coldwell Banker launched their Exclusive Look platform in the Chicagoland area last week. “Coldwell Banker acted quickly to develop Exclusive Look and launch it just eight weeks after the National Association of Realtors introduced its new Clear Cooperation policy,” Ayoub Rabah, president of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in Greater Chicagoland, said in a press release announcing the product. “These tools provide a great advantage to Coldwell Banker agents in the greater Chicagoland region and their clients.”
The tool will give Coldwell Banker users access to listings known as brokerage exclusives, as well as the ability to broadcast their listings across the United States and to tailor their property pool more closely to the desires of buyer clients. The platform is exclusive to Coldwell Banker offices, affiliated agents and their clients, but will be available to all affiliated partners later this year.
Broker from @properties forms new team
The @properties shop at Damen Avenue has a new team under its roof, known as the Justin Lucas Group. Its namesake announced his new team members in an email today. “Last year, after selling $15.5 million dollars’ worth of real estate, I made the decision to grow a team. And that team is here,” Lucas said.
David Diaz joined Lucas as the first licensed broker on the team, and Carley Gordon is the group’s transaction coordinator. Before joining @properties, Lucas held talent development positions at Deloitte and Northern Trust. Diaz came to the team from his family’s firm, Diaz Brothers Landscaping, and Gordon transitioned to real estate from an advertising position at Conversant.
Spaces Real Estate announces new VP
This week, Chicago-based brokerage Spaces Real Estate announced that Paul Nelhart will be the vice president of the firm’s investment sales division, known as Spaces Invest. The new arm of the brokerage originally launched back in 2019 to focus on the sale of multifamily homes. With Nelhart at the helm, Spaces Invest will expand into commercial properties throughout Chicagoland with a focus on providing clients with overall investment strategies.
Nelhart was previously a director at 5M Real Estate Inc. and worked as a broker at Option Realty Group. “My career has spanned both residential and commercial real estate, which made the move to Spaces especially enticing because it allows me to build a commercial brokerage within an established brand that, until now, has focused exclusively on the residential multifamily market,” said Nelhart in a press release about the expansion. “Increasingly, investors – including many longtime property owners – are looking to diversify their portfolios, so with this expanded scope of services, Spaces will be better positioned to help clients achieve their investment objectives across all major asset classes.”