As a lifelong North Shore resident, Heidi Prassas Ziomek has helped her clients buy and sell homes in the area for the past 15 years. This hometown edge offers her clients in-depth, local expertise, specifically in her ability to illustrate the experience of living on the North Shore. “When people are buying or selling residential real estate on the North Shore, they need someone who can speak to the lifestyle,” says Ziomek, a broker with DreamTown Realty. She will highlight not only the amenities of the house that the current seller has enjoyed over the years, but also what the location and community have to offer. Examples are where the local farmers market is in Wilmette or the free Plaza del Lago music series spanning several Thursdays in June and July.

Whether Ziomek is working with a first-time buyer or selling a lakefront mansion, her clients benefit from her honesty, authenticity, responsiveness and ability to infuse humor into stressful situations. Her clients know her for her thoroughness in advocating for their best interests. “Former clients usually compliment me on my responsiveness and ability to anticipate their needs in advance,” she notes.

“Truly listening to a client’s desires requires listening to the client’s underlying message, and paying attention to the details that often elude most people,” Ziomek says. In addition to her innate knowledge of the area, her clients benefit from the importance she places on focusing on the right follow-up questions.

When Ziomek isn’t advising clients, she loves the outdoors, hiking, traveling and spending time with family. An avid runner, she has two Chicago marathons under her belt. She also has a passion for health, wellness and good food, an enthusiasm she shares with her husband and three daughters.