Whether it was used as an integral part of their business or casually for convenience, technology was a part of most brokers’ lives prior to the pandemic — but overnight it became essential. Zoom meetings, virtual open houses and electronic notaries, along with a lot of other tech tools, took center stage in the business of residential real estate last year, and, like it or not, brokers found themselves shifting to the digital world.

In this issue, we speak with some of the top Chicagoland brokers to find out what tech they’re using now, what they think they’ll keep from the era of social distancing and what’s likely to fall by the wayside. Our coverage explores some of the most popular tech out there and new, cutting edge apps and web portals that have gained a foothold in the market over the past few years.

Real estate coach Candy Miles-Crocker shares some of her favorite apps for keeping her business moving forward in our monthly Top Coach column. In our Association News feature, Realtor Association of the Fox Valley CEO Chris A. Studebaker makes a thoughtful argument for why it’s more important than ever to maintain a personal connection with clients. Speaking of personal connections, we return this month with our feature The Scene for an in-person opening of RE/MAX NEXT’s new Lakeview office. We shift gears with this month’s Real Issues feature to explore the effect runaway home prices are having on appraisals.

New real estate tech innovations break onto the market seemingly every day, so we’ll keep the conversation going. That’s why we want to hear from you about the new tools you’ve adopted. What’s working for you? What’s not? Drop us a line at Tim.Inklebarger@agentpublishing.com.