Insights

On July 4, 2025, the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” was signed into law, bringing a range of economic policy changes, including some that may affect commercial real estate investors. Learn more about what’s staying the same and what’s changing.

Affordable home ownership is under pressure for the average American. While there are many contributing factors, inventory shortages, along with high inflation that led to rapidly increasing interest rates, are chief among them. The country needs more housing units and new multifamily properties are one of the best solutions to provide that housing. In our latest blog post, we examine the impacts of supply and demand on multi-family real estate investing.

Many real estate investors consider investing in a DST when they sell property and are looking to complete a 1031 exchange. A Delaware Statutory Trust, or DST, is a legal structure that is often utilized to hold title to property and form certain real estate investments. The DST structure may resemble a limited liability company (LLC), a real estate investment trust (REIT), or a limited partnership (LP). However, unlike those structures, IRS Revenue Ruling 2004-86 considers a DST direct ownership of property vs. owning a business that owns property. As such, a properly structured DST property may qualify as a like-kind exchange property for a 1031 exchange.

Over the last decade, multifamily properties have been one of the most targeted investments for real estate developers and investors. Class A apartments, student housing, senior living, and built-to-rent have all been popular sub-asset classes within multifamily. While the type of property is important, location has always been one of the primary driving forces of a real estate investment’s success. Location trends shift over time, and Chicagoland 1031 Exchange has, for several years, been working with DST sponsors that tend to focus on more suburban locations.

When tax reform passed Congress last year, 1031 exchanges pertaining to real estate were spared major changes in legislation. This often under-looked yet tax-advantaged solution is potentially one of the most powerful tax planning and wealth preservation strategies available to investors.

In 2017, the new federal tax law created Opportunity Zones with the goal of directing investment, development, and improvement in distressed communities around the United States. An Opportunity Zone is defined by the IRS as an economically-distressed community where new investments, under certain conditions, may be eligible for preferential tax treatment. As you may expect, Opportunity Zones are now, rightfully, getting a lot of attention.

In previous posts I have written about the merits of the Delaware Statutory Trust (DST) and how this popular securitized investment vehicle may help individuals complete their property exchanges and ultimately, achieve their financial goals. I have also addressed the risks associated with investing in real estate and the unique risks related to DSTs.

In this article, I highlight the fees involved when investing in DSTs, with the intent of bringing context to the DST fee structures so that investors are better informed.

Recently, the White House released the details of President Biden’s proposed $1.8 trillion American Families Plan. The President’s proposal outlines several tax increases intended to help finance parts of this monumental spending—including changes to 1031 exchanges that, if passed, will severely limit the ability of everyday Americans to complete an exchange.