Beginning her career in the accounting/finance industry, Joanne Balbarin has held various positions throughout her professional life, all with the one constant of allowing her to follow her passion for connecting with people. A Realtor with COMPASS Real Estate, Balbarin is a native Chicagoan who loves the city despite its sometimes abrupt weather mood swings. “I use that love of the Windy City’s distinctive neighborhoods and surrounding suburbs in helping clients find their place in the world,” she shares. “Chicago includes 77 diverse neighborhoods, and the only way to learn about a market area is to experience it.”
A member of the top-producing team The LAKE Group, Balbarin considers the team’s combined efforts beneficial for buyers and sellers. The team’s mantra “concierge-level service” provides for an exceptional client experience, she insists. The Chicago Association of Realtors designated the group a Top Producer Team at the gold and platinum levels from 2019 to 2022, and Chicago magazine listed it as a Top 100 Real Estate Team in 2021 and 2022. It also was named to RealTrends’ America’s Best Real Estate Professionals List in 2021 and 2022.
An Accredited Buyer’s Representative and Pricing Strategy Advisor, Balbarin has a project management certification and is attaining her Seniors Real Estate Specialist designation. “My services start way before any contracts are signed and do not stop at the closing table,” she says. Known to her clients as being honest and transparent, she remains by their side every step of the way. She has been fortunate and grateful that 100% of her business has been referral-based.
Balbarin serves on the advisory and planning committee for COMPASS Cares Chicago, which benefits numerous charitable organizations. She has recently incorporated reading, meditation and travel back into her life and is also an impassioned member of the COMPASS community’s 6AMERS group, explaining, “The sole purpose is to encourage each other to wake up with positivity and happiness with the hope that this energy will help us throughout the rest of the day in order to focus on getting 1% better each day!”
