A big thank you to the hundreds of agents who filled out our fourth annual Truth About Agents survey to get the results for this Truth About Agents issue. It is one of Chicago Agent’s most popular issues, and

Strategy is so important, and sometimes after years in the field, agents forget that sometimes strategies need to be tweaked. We reported on a McGraw–Hill study within the cover story that shared interesting statistics about sales and follow-up –

There has been a lot of news in the world of mortgages lately – the mortgage interest deduction almost disappeared (and it still might, as it could be on the chopping block for the next sequester discussions), the Consumer

We tend to only know what’s around us, or what is local to us. So when it comes to Realtor associations, many agents don’t realize that there are more than just the association they are members of. Or maybe

The end of the year is already here. And if the Mayans are right, then this really is the end – of the world – but I guess we’ll have to wait and see if they actually are right,

What does it take to become not only the best possible recruit for your managing broker, but also a top-notch agent? Managing brokers might run their offices differently from the next, but the survey we sent out to more

That’s a pretty big question. Real estate, for the most part, is very entrepreneurial. Some people prefer to work by themselves; some prefer help in the form of an assistant, a few assistants or a whole team. And some

Our Agents’ Choice Awards event went off without a hitch. Held at the spectacular Legacy penthouses, nominees and guests sipped cocktails and mingled with the industry’s finest, all while enjoying spectacular views and waiting with anticipation as to just

With technology, one minute an app, software or platform could be deemed “the best,” and the next minute, a company has come out with something even better that vies for that

I know that our last issue focused on the election, but Mitt Romney, President Obama and Election Day apply heavily to this issue, too. Harris Interactive performed a survey recently that showed that 25 percent of homebuyers are considering the

Every four years, the country starts thinking about the government. I mean, really thinking about the government. Citizens start thinking about what can be done to improve our country: what changes need to be made? What policies need to

Buyers are still cautious, but statistics show that the new construction market is turning positive. New construction starts may not be where they were in 2007, but the fact that there are small increases at least says just that

When people say that phrase, “exposing the truth,” it usually has a negative connotation, as in, investigating corruption or “getting to the bottom” of something. But in this case, we want to expose some great, factual information about agents.

There is some debate as to whether agents should host open houses. Many agents say they only host them if the client wants them to. Others refuse to host them because they insist there’s no point. But there are

 After being an agent for a while, owning your own brokerage might not seem like that much of a leap from what you’re doing. How hard could it be? No matter if you buy a franchise or found a

This industry allows for many different business models. Ranging from 100 percent commission models to traditional broker/agent splits, brokerage business models have evolved over the years. Now, these models even extend into technology. Redfin, for example, has an Internet-based