Running into a college friend who’d just started a job as a real estate assistant, Anna Huls was inspired to follow the same path. Before making the switch, she worked as a real estate paralegal and travel agent, in addition to holding various positions in the service industry while living in New Zealand and the Cook Islands.
Now a broker who helms her own team, The Huls Group at @properties, Huls works with all categories of buyers and sellers. She focuses on serving first-time buyers, move-up buyers and investors in Logan Square, Bucktown, Wicker Park, Avondale and Humboldt Park. “I enjoy the mix of people I work with and look at every transaction, no matter the price range, with the same excitement,” Huls says.
Her teammate, Ryan Compton Main, decided on a career in the industry after working as a civil rights investigator and realizing the need many consumers have for an advocate during the homebuying process. Main holds a Juris Doctor, which is useful when dealing with contracts and negotiations. Prior to joining the real estate industry, she volunteered with AmeriCorps VISTA and the Los Angeles Free Clinic and worked for the nonprofit Mary Magdalene Project, where she assisted former prostitutes through a residential and transitional program. “I can be very calm when chaos is all around, which is a pretty common situation in real estate,” Main says. “You have to be on point and focused.”
Both women are big proponents of continuing education. Huls even completed @properties’ extensive course for new agents when she joined the company, even though she was not new to the field. She also learned to think on her feet and find ease in uncomfortable situations from @properties’ Improv for Realtors course. Recently, she and Main participated in an in-depth home inspection class.
These investments in education are paying off. Huls was named a Top Producer by the Chicago Association of Realtors in 2013 and then again from 2016 to 2018. The team has been recognized for top production by @properties continually from 2013 through 2018 and was one of the company’s Rolex to Rolex winners in 2016.
Outside of work, Huls and Main both enjoy spending time with family and volunteering in the community.
