Chicago Real Estate Picks March Madness Winners

Yesterday we asked for your March Madness picks. Ventas chairman and CEO Debra Cafaro and others weighed in and these CRE predictions should give Nate Silver a run for his money.

The University of Louisville is a hometown pick for Debra(VTR was founded there). She can't wait to head to Atlanta where she'll watch the Final Four. When asked which sport she'd go pro in (who knows, maybe a second act after the REIT business?), she says she'd be a Pittsburgh Steeler--preferably a strong safety like Troy Polamalu or QB. (We could see CEO experience helping here.)

DKMallon SVP and managing director Mike Mallon (pictured on the right) says it's hard to bet against Michigan State coach Tom Izzo, and he picked the Spartans to go all the way. He plans to watch the games at Pints in downtown Elmhurst (while drinking some pints?) and fingers crossed, will be in Indianapolis to watch MSU bring home the big win (its last national championship was in Indy in 2000). He'd go pro in basketball because it's a great team sport... we think he just wants his own sneaker contract.

CBRE SVP John Jaeger and his wife Connie are true blue Spartans like Mike, so it hurt a bit when their first daughter chose University of Michigan for college. They joined their daughter in the Big House last fall for the first family MSU-UM game, where unfortunately, UM won as the result of a fluke play, he tells us. In John's words, "MSU will dominate the NCAA tournament and take home their third trophy." You may recall John from some news coverage of an MSU at Notre Dame game he attended a couple years ago, famously donning the Spartan jersey above with his name on the back and a #50 (a gift from coworkers for his 50th birthday).

Alter Group SVP Matt Ward says the Kansas Jayhawks will take home the trophy and he'll be watching with his childhood buddies at Hometown Tap on the Southwest Side. He dreams of being one of the boys of summer, playing shortstop and leadoff hitter, just like his favorite player, Derek Jeter. Newmark Grubb Knight Frank associate Christian Peppler says the 'Cuse lights his fuse. He'll watch Syracuse games at the Full Shilling in Wrigleyville and has hopes of being drafted into the NBA (due to the possibility of visiting North Korea a la Dennis Rodman, he jokes).

A sports fan from a distant land, Todd Hoffmeyer (retail brokerage services at Howard Schwartz Commercial Real Estate in Farmington Hills, Mich.), swears Louisville will emerge victorious. He isn't too particular about where he watches, be it office, sports bar, or home on the couch, and says he'd like to be a pro baseball player (a Tiger, perhaps?). IRR executive director Brandon Nunnink would choose golf as a dream career. Why, you ask? Easiest on the body/longest career time and great money (including endorsements), he tells us. Brandon is Rock Chalk all the way and is watching the games at Theory this afternoon at a Real Estate Lenders Association event.

Going to the games? Report back to us with pictures at marissa.oberlander@bisnow.com.