Articles and market commentary from Chris Mokler and the CJM&A team.
If you've ever sold an investment property and been surprised by a bigger tax bill than you expected, depreciation recapture was probably the culprit. It's one of the most misunderstood pieces of real estate taxation — and one of the most expensive to get wrong.
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For years, the Opportunity Zone program has been treated as a countdown clock: a temporary tax incentive created by the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act that was set to expire for new investments at the end of 2026. That clock has now been reset. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), signed into law on July 4, 2025, overhauls the program from top to bottom — permanently extending it, redrawing the map of eligible zones, sweetening benefits for rural investment, and adding real teeth to compliance and reporting. Industry insiders have taken to calling it "Opportunity Zones 2.0."
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Employers know that even a well-paying job won't attract or keep workers if there's nowhere reasonable nearby for them to live. A community can have every other box checked and still lose a project — or worse, win the project and then struggle to help the employer staff it — if housing is scarce or unaffordable relative to local wages.
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The lesson for communities — and for the employers, developers, and local leaders trying to grow them — is that housing and employment can't be tackled in isolation. A new manufacturing plant or distribution center means little if the workers it hires can't find anywhere nearby to live. And a new housing development means little if there's no local job market to support the people moving into it. Sustainable growth depends on keeping those two pieces in balance.
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The numbers tell a clear story of a market squeezed by supply. As of September 2025, Wisconsin's median home price hit $338,000 — the worst housing affordability position of any state in the Midwest. That price pressure isn't just a headline statistic; it has real consequences. The average age of a first-time homebuyer in Wisconsin has climbed to 38 years old, a sign that younger workers and families are being priced out of ownership for years longer than in previous generations.
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The federal Fair Housing Act (FHA) and Wisconsin's Open Housing Law protect the rights of individuals with disabilities to have service animals and other assistance animals, including emotional support animals (ESAs), as a reasonable accommodation, even when a landlord's lease, rules or policies prohibit pets or impose breed, size or number restrictions.
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The multifamily industry continues to face a new operating reality. While rent growth has moderated in many markets, operating expenses remain elevated. Insurance costs, in particular, are expected to remain a key challenge for apartment owners nationwide.
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For years, the answer to whether a business should build a new facility or purchase an existing property often depended on availability and timing. In June 2026, however, rising construction costs, higher financing expenses, labor shortages, and limited inventories of quality commercial properties have made the decision far more complex.
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The American office market has undergone a dramatic transformation since the pandemic. While demand for premier Class A office space has remained relatively resilient, many Class B and Class C office properties continue to struggle with elevated vacancy rates, changing workplace habits, and declining asset values. As a result, developers, municipalities, and investors are increasingly turning to adaptive reuse as a strategy to reposition underperforming office buildings into productive community assets.
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Property owners often assume that if they hold title to a piece of real estate, they have complete control over who uses it. While ownership rights are strong, there are situations where another party can acquire legal rights to use a portion of someone else's property without purchasing it. One of the most common examples is a **prescriptive easement**.
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In 2026, the most valuable data center sites are not simply the biggest, cheapest, or best-located. They are the ones that can answer the question every tenant, lender, investor, and local official is now asking: **Where is the power coming from?**
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The new Opportunity Zones taking effect January 1, 2027, represent a significant reset of one of the country’s most important place-based tax incentives. The program will have a new 10-year map, stricter eligibility standards, permanent status, stronger rural incentives and more transparency than the original version.
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Act 235 responds to a housing problem that has become an economic-development problem. Many Wisconsin communities are not just short of housing in general; they are short of homes that local workers can realistically afford. Forward Analytics has estimated that Wisconsin needs at least 140,000 new housing units between 2020 and 2030 to keep up with demand, with additional hidden demand potentially raising the need to 227,000 units.
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Rolling back overly restrictive Biden-era rules is not just about refrigeration equipment or energy policy. It is about restoring common sense to the cost of doing business. It is about recognizing that every regulation has a price tag, and that price tag is often paid by small businesses and consumers first.
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If you are considering a workforce housing project, redevelopment opportunity, mixed-use investment, or adaptive reuse conversion in Wisconsin, understanding available incentives, zoning considerations, and local market conditions can be critical to project success.
Read ArticleA commercial real estate appraisal is one of the most important components of a commercial transaction. Appraisers provide an independent valuation that lenders, buyers, investors, and sellers rely upon to make informed decisions. Sellers and commercial real estate agents can play a major role in helping the appraiser understand the property accurately by supplying organized financials, improvement histories, market data, and comparable information.
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efore entering into a commercial lease, tenants and landlords should consider working with with a Commercial Real Estate Agent to help bring these items to your attention and to negotiate your needs and desires. Careful planning and negotiation can help avoid costly surprises and create a lease structure that benefits both parties for years to come.
Read ArticleEnvironmental issues are a critical part of commercial real estate. While many properties have no significant problems, buyers and investors should always understand the potential risks associated with a site’s history, location, and prior use.
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For many commercial real estate investors, a 1031 Exchange can be one of the most valuable tools available for building wealth, preserving equity, and upgrading investment properties without immediately paying capital gains taxes.
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Today, restaurant owners continue to battle rising labor costs, increasing food prices, higher insurance expenses, utility costs, changing customer habits, and economic uncertainty. In many cases, operators are working harder than ever while seeing thinner profit margins than they did five or ten years ago.
Read ArticleCAP rates are very practical and useful tools. As a rental property investor, one can use CAP rate to pick a market or property type to invest in, set goals and perform analysis for property acquisitions, or decide to sell an existing property.
Read ArticleIt is so simple to analyze a property thoroughly and consider different situations that might occur. Having a good commercial real estate agent helps as a second pair of eyes.
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What exactly are you trying to achieve?
Read ArticleCAP rates seem to be a big mystery for many, so this is where we're going to start.
Read ArticleSBA loans are designed to support small business growth by helping qualified borrowers obtain financing with terms that may be more flexible than conventional commercial lending.
Read ArticleObtaining a commercial loan can be one of the most important steps in growing or stabilizing a business.
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Landlords have had to deal with fake tenant applications for years. But rental scam artists upped their game and have gotten increasingly sly in their attempts to evade background checks for rental properties.
Read ArticleA land contract can provide an alternative financing option for buyers who may not qualify for traditional financing, and a steady stream of income for sellers.
Read ArticleTHERE ARE OTHER OPTIONS! There are was to stay in real estate, not pay taxes (at this time), get a monthly payment and capital appreciation!
Read ArticleA bridge loan is a short-term loan used until a person or company secures permanent financing or removes an existing obligation. It allows the user to meet current obligations by providing immediate cash flow. Bridge loans are short term, up to one year, have relatively high interest rates, and are usually backed by some form of collateral, such as real estate or inventory.
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In today’s 1031 Exchange market, Delaware Statutory Trusts (DSTs) may offer an intriguing option for investors who are looking for properties to complete their 1031 Exchanges.
Read ArticleA GREAT Commercial Agent is going to bring a lot more to the table, to sell your property. There is also more to just selling the property. Are they going to help get you the best price the market will give? Are they going to help you evaluate sellers and their offers to make sure the sale will happen? Are they going to be in step with you along the way to get all details handled to make things as painless as possible and get the job done? This is not an area where it is simply acceptable to throw the property on the Multiple Listing Service and place a sign out front and wait for buyers!!!!
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