Danielle D’Alessandro, executive director of the Illinois Craft Brewers Guild chats with Luke Worrell, president of the Illinois Chapter of REALTORS® Land Institute and Global Business Council Vice Chair Maurice Hampton at the council’s meeting Oct. 3, 2018 in Lombard as part of the Illinois REALTORS® Fall Business Meetings. .
Mike Levin, director of public policy and regulatory affairs for the Illinois Soybean Growers, talks about the impact soybeans have on the state economy at a Illinois REALTORS® Global Business Council Meeting in Lombard on Oct. 3, 2018.
Members of the Illinois REALTORS® Global Business Council heard on Wednesday from speakers representing industries which have the potential to bring foreign real estate investment into the state.
The council, which focuses on opportunities to promote the state to foreign buyers and provide training and insight to Illinois REALTORS® members, met as part of the state association’s Fall Business Meetings in Lombard.
Farmland prices softer, but attracting more international interest
Luke Worrell with Worrell Land Services in Jacksonville told REALTORS® that foreign buyers were expressing greater interest in the state’s farmland.
Worrell is president of the Illinois Chapter of the REALTORS® Land Institute, and his business works with real estate, farm management and appraisal. He said farmland prices in Illinois have “softened” this year, but that his office was getting calls from foreign investors who saw the dip in prices as a potential opportunity to make real estate purchases.
He said 2009-2013 were record years for farmland prices in Illinois because many investors were scared of the stock market and saw real estate as a better hedge against economic turmoil. Add to that high commodity prices and low interest rates, and farmland was even more attractive.
The same dynamics that drove farmland prices up are also working against price increases now, he said. Interest rates have crept up and the stock market has attracted many investors.
Craft brewers a growing economic force in state, association director says
Illinois has seen rapid growth in smaller craft brewers, and that has had an impact on real estate, said Dannielle D’Alessandro, executive director of the Illinois Craft Brewers Guild.
She said there are 230 licensed craft breweries in the state, with another 12 set to open in the near future. D’Alessandro said there was no reason to believe the growth rate will slow as customers seek out the businesses.
She said the industry has created opportunities for members to buy older, downtown buildings for conversion into breweries. The growth has created a need for additional sources for hops, one of the major ingredients used in beer production.
The increased attention to craft brewers provides opportunities for tourism, she said.
Soybean harvest in state set to reach record levels
Illinois is poised to post record soybean production this year with estimates putting a total crop yield at more than 700 million bushels, an official with the Illinois Soybean Growers said. For perspective, Iowa will likely not top 600 million bushels.
If Illinois were a country, it would be the fourth largest grower of soybeans in the world, said Mike Levin, director of public policy and regulatory affairs for the association.
The state has strong foreign ties for its soybean crop. Two of every four rows of soybeans grown in the state are shipped to China, he said.
