What I really learned in my first year of editing our Who’s Who issue is that these people really care about the industry. They understand the value of investing in it, and know that the dividends of their dedication and hard work might pay off in a closing tomorrow or a referral two decades from now.

It’s nice to have a partner in the accountability game, and that’s how we came up with the idea for this issue. As the magazine for the well-informed real estate professional in Chicagoland, we wanted to serve as your reminder to check in on yourself and make sure you’re on track to have a feeling of accomplishment when December rolls around.

When it comes to finding the perfect neighborhood, there’s no solid line between the city and the ’burbs. This is becoming even clearer as suburbs and cities swap characteristics.

Any way you slice it, there are some strong feelings around short-term rentals. The fact is, they’re here, your clients want to know about them, and there are both good and bad ways to go about participating in the market. That’s the thought process behind this issue, and I hope whatever your point of view on Airbnb is, you learn something new from the stories in this volume.

Predictive analytics is a new way to take in more data and make more precise and educated guesses from the results. And it’s no longer theoretical; predictive analytics and big data have moved from buzzwords to adoption.

In this issue, we learn what managing brokers are looking for when they recruit agents, and what they do when they’ve found someone they think will be a good fit in their office. How much can they really control, in terms of how agents do their business, and what’s the proper level of support and training to offer a person who isn’t technically one’s employee?

Real estate has been hit with multiple legal challenges to the status quo, particularly in how agents get paid. Why is this happening now, and what does it mean for you?

Our take on the luxury market is distinct. We like to think of ourselves as a resource for agents who work with — or want to be able to work with — high-end clients.

I’ve been looking forward to this issue since I started at Chicago Agent magazine...

The spring market is on its way in, and with it, new homes will be sprouting all over Chicagoland. Are you ready?