Chicago Industry Trends
As Chicago shifts in its industry, Chicago is welcoming an increase in the variety of business and real development projects. Office leasing is booming even as construction costs are rising as per the BOMA/Chicago Study tenants place greater value on amenities and location-making, thereby transferring them away from lavish new constructions to more collaborative spaces. This trend is also evident through retrofitting of existing buildings to allow for flexible use by firms that are looking to reduce or move into smaller space.
IT (Information Technology) has quickly become one of the fastest growing industries in Chicago due to the rise of shared workspace providers like WeWork and Regus as well as the fact that IT companies benefit from Chicago's strong infrastructure and its proximity to talent pools in other sectors. Additionally, 1871 incubator has been recognized as one of the premier incubators worldwide.
Chicago is one of the three top manufacturing cities across the US with a high concentration of food and plastics, as well as metals. Manufacturing companies profit from Chicago's central location which makes their products easily transportable across the nation or globe. Furthermore, innovation within the manufacturing industry is rapidly growing thus Chicago has many incubators like the mHub.
Logistics and transportation are the main economic drivers in Chicago area, particularly when businesses shift away from traditional retail and move to online sales. Chicago has a wide shipping fleet, including container ports as well as air cargo hubs, airports, waterways inland and rail yards, as well as extensive intermodal facilities that connect to the whole US the supply chain.
Chicago is well-positioned to continue to be a major economic force with the recent expansion that has seen the Chicago Mercantile Exchange - a global hub for trading and processing commodities - coming into effect. Union Station serves thousands of Amtrak travelers every day. The port provides another important part of regional trade by handling both containers and bulk goods.
Tourism in Chicago region is also experiencing growth and will return to pre-pandemic levels in the summer, due to a variety of major events including NASCAR race, Lollapalooza festival Democratic National Convention and the International Manufacturing Technology Show. O'Hare airport could see a boost in travel as more airlines resume service and the government decreases travel restrictions. However, consumer confidence could suffer due to the fact that the markets press release for book launch (a cool way to improve) housing are highly volatile Realtors can help buyers navigate these nuances and make sure informed decisions are being made by buyers.
