It takes quite a while to “gather the string,” as editors like to say, for this massive issue. And that’s why this year’s Truth About Agents Survey is not a snapshot of what life is like today.

Today is colored by mass hospitalizations, stay-at-home orders and millions of Americans being suddenly thrust into unemployment. While we will continue to report on these stories and help you figure out what the future of real estate looks like in the shadow of such disturbing events in our daily news coverage, that is not what this issue is about.

But that’s OK. Even in these chaotic days, it’s still important to take the long view. We need to know how the lives of agents and managing brokers have changed in the past year, not just the past month. And though some of the plans described in the coming pages may have been put on hold temporarily, knowing what agents plan to do to expand their businesses in 2020 has a direct impact on our understanding of the local market.

So I hope you’ll enjoy this portrait of Chicagoland real estate, not as a diversion from the news of today but more as an assertion of the fundamental normalcy of real estate. This is a snapshot of our equilibrium — one that we will return to at some point.

In the meantime, I welcome you to get in touch with me about anything, whether you have new survey question ideas or tips for maintaining perspective in troubled times. The line is always open at meg.white@agentpublishing.com.