With more than 35 years of real estate experience in the Chicagoland area, Rick Hiton is an expert in urban economics and property valuation, providing real estate appraisal services for major financial institutions, insurance companies, law/litigation, private homeowners, commercial property owners and more.
At University of Illinois, Hiton specialized in the fundamentals of real estate, urban economics, investment analysis, and valuation theory. After earning his Master of Science degree in Real Estate & Urban Economics at UIUC and studying finance at the PhD level at Northwestern University, he went on to develop real-world expertise as a real estate appraiser and lending officer. In 1981, he founded Rick Hiton & Associates, and established himself as a local expert in appraisals, real estate tax assessments, portfolio assessments, and commercial real estate lending consultation. Hiton is an Illinois-certified residential appraiser and real estate broker, as well as a member of national organizations like the American Association of Certified Appraisers, the National Association of Independent Fee Appraisers (IFAS), and the Illinois Association of Certified Real Estate Appraisers (IACREA). He is currently the Vice President of the Illinois Coalition of Appraiser Professionals-ICAP.