Agents are swearing by the year-old Clubhouse app that allows more than 10 million users to host town hall-style audio-only forums on various topics.

To update you on all the exciting new changes in the luxury market, we went directly to the source: luxury brokers. With much candor, they reveal how the market held up this past year, the types of properties that are moving, how the city compares to the suburbs, buyers’ evolving needs and their exciting predictions for the post-COVID world.

LaFido has spent more than 20 years in the industry working in luxury sales and training agents to work in the field. In 2016, he launched his Luxury Listing Specialist (LUXE) certification program.

In this year’s Truth About Agents survey, we go beyond the statistics with an analysis that contextualizes your responses with prior years’ survey results; the 2021 survey also serves up your comments on topics such as agents’ opinions of their brokerages, what their plans are for the future, how much they expect to earn in the coming year and much more.

Have you attempted to renegotiate your commission split in the last 12 months? See what other Chicagoland agents had to say in our 2021 Truth About Agents survey.

Which area of training do Chicagoland agents say they wish they had more of? We asked them in our 2021 Truth About Agents survey.

What kind of agents are managing brokers targeting for recruitment? What’s their biggest challenge in training new agents? The answers are in the 2021 Truth About Agents survey.

Are Chicago agents happy with their teams? Has joining a team helped them grow their business? Find out in our 2021 Truth About Agents survey.

What is the typical Chicagoland homebuyer looking for in a new construction home? We have the answer in our 2021 Truth About Agents survey.

How long have Chicagoland agents and brokers been at their present company? What percentage of them plan to move to a different brokerage over the next year? We have the answers for you in our 2021 Truth About Agents survey.

Explore the demographic makeup of Chicagoland agents and brokers in our 2021 Truth About Agents survey.

To help you best serve clients in these uncertain times, we consulted with three of the city’s top lenders to find out their expectations for 2021 and what changes caused by the pandemic are here to stay.

In our new cover story, hear expert advice from three top producers in Chicagoland.

These brokers cover it all, from developing a thorough market analysis to creating a marketing plan, budgeting for the year ahead and organizing each workday. Their thoughts may motivate you to tweak your own business plan or confirm that you are right on track.

For our annual Predictions issue, we talk to the experts — the biggest names in Chicagoland real estate. What are the things that agents need to be cognizant of as they head into the new year? And how will COVID-19 continue to impact the real estate industry?

A nurturing office culture doesn’t happen overnight. Supportive, sturdy leadership by the managing broker is crucial, as is providing the right level of support for agents and clients.