When he began his career as a broker in Chicago, Armond Boulware quickly realized how much he enjoyed working with first-time homebuyers and investors. He especially noticed the pivotal role investors played in increasing the value and visual appeal of the communities he served. Later, as the housing shortage grew in the Chicagoland area, he realized that only 25 minutes away was a plentiful source of inventory: Gary, Indiana.

“I grew up in Gary. Over time I’ve seen how the landscape has changed, and that encouraged me to do something about it,” Boulware explained. He began to show investors that Gary is an emerging market, ripe with plentiful inventory.

Today Boulware splits his time between Coldwell Banker’s Hyde Park and Northwest Indiana locations, specializing in working with investors, developers and first-time homebuyers who are looking for single-family and multiunit residential properties. “Buyers need someone who knows the area inside and out; as an agent who’s an expert in this local area, I bring a wealth of knowledge and expertise about buying and selling real estate here,” he says.

His family has been in construction for generations, so Boulware says he always aspired to be in the real estate business to continue the tradition. He has developed a process-driven business style with an emphasis on showing investors and buyers that every step can be simple and efficient with proper consulting and guidance. To that end, he educates each client as much as possible about the buying and selling experience so there are no surprises.

Boulware is a member of the National Association of Real Estate Brokers, an organization dedicated to enhancing the professional and business conditions of members by strengthening the consumer capacity of Black, minority and emerging target-market-segments that members serve.