Illinois REALTOR® Moses Hall, CEO of MoHall Commercial and Urban Development, speaks about his experience attending MIPIM in 2019. He plans to return for the 2020 conference.

Illinois REALTORS® got an update on what the state is doing to market itself to foreign investors, and heard about the value of attending an international real estate conference.  

The updates were provided at the Illinois REALTORS® Global Business Council meeting on Tuesday in Naperville held as part of the association’s Fall Business Meetings. 

Illinois working to position state as place to do business 

Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity Director of Commerce Erin Guthrie discusses what the state is doing to attract new business. She spoke at a meeting of the Illinois REALTORS® Global Business Council.

Illinois is working to create and promote a number of business incentive plans which aim to bring international investment to the state.  

Erin Guthrie, director of commerce for the state Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, said her agency is looking to partner with many groups to tell about the state’s competitiveness as a business destination.  

Guthrie mentioned Rivian, a manufacturer of electric vehicles in Bloomington, as an example of the type of investment the state wants to attract. The business took over a former Mitsubishi plant which had employed more than 1,000 people. 

“DCEO wants to establish that Illinois is the best place to work and do business,” Guthrie said. She added: “Illinois has unique qualities which set us apart.”  

The state agency is tasked with attracting business to the state and Guthrie said it has a number of incentive programs designed to sell the attractiveness of the state as a business destination.  

Illinois REALTORS® was part of a trade mission with state officials earlier this month to Tokyo, Japan.

Efty Garba with Efty Real Estate Group, listens to a presentation at the Global Business Council on the annual MIPIM conference. Garba was one of several state REALTORS® who received stipends to attend the event this year.

MIPIM seen as valuable experience by attendees 

For the past five years, Illinois REALTORS® has sent a delegation of members to the MIPIM conference, a massive real estate event which attracts more than 25,000 people to Cannes, France.  

The state association provides stipends for new and returning attendees as part of the organization’s mission to help members better understand international real estate and help them advance their businesses.  

Moses Hall, CEO at MoHall Commercial and Urban Development, said as a first-time stipend recipient he immediately saw the value of attending.  

He said the event allowed him to build business relationships and generated business, but he advised anyone attending to do so more than once.  The value of repeat visits enhances your ability to make connections, he said. 

Maurice Hampton, chair of the Global Business Council and CEO at Centered International Realty, has attended MIPIM all five years. He said the lack of U.S. firms represented benefitted Illinois REALTORS who made the trip.  

“Because of the lack of U.S. representation, we’ve (Illinois REALTORS®) have become the go to people at this conference for investment here,” he said. 

MIPIM stipend applications will offset $1,500 of the cost of attending the event. Six stipends are awarded to those who have attended previously, and an additional six will be awarded to first-time attendees.  

The deadline to apply is Sept. 30, 2019. Details of the stipend program can be found here.  

AREAA planning luxury event in Chicago in 2020 

Atuel Hope, executive director of the Asian Real Estate Association of America speaks at an Illinois REALTORS® Global Business Council meeting.

Hope Atuel, executive director of the Asian Real Estate Association of America, discussed the upcoming Global & Luxury Summit to be held in Chicago in 2020 at the Four Seasons Hotel.  

Asian investment in the U.S. is substantial, accounting for some $117 billion in purchasing power, she said.

The conference is expected to attract nearly 800 people from throughout the U.S. and abroad.