Ericka Rios, Founder & Director of Leasing

Kati Baker, CEO

As a boutique, women-owned and women-led brokerage, Downtown Apartment Collective (DAC) combines a strong brand identity with white-glove service to deliver an exceptional experience for renters, buyers and sellers throughout Chicago. Ericka Rios, founder and director of leasing, and Kati Baker, CEO of the firm, have worked together for 16 years. They share a passion for providing extensive coaching and support to their team of experienced agents.

Rios, a real estate veteran, leads the team through coaching, guidance and hands-on leadership. She focuses on developing agents, supporting team members and building strong property management partnerships. Before becoming CEO, Baker was responsible for building the firm’s team, handpicking many of its top agents. Today, she oversees business development, strategic initiatives and the company’s continued growth.
With a retail-style office in the River North Gallery District, DAC focuses on the downtown luxury market, covering the Gold Coast, River North, Streeterville, Loop, South Loop, West Loop, Fulton Market, Wicker Park and Lincoln Park neighborhoods.

In 2024, DAC officially partnered with Compass. By 2026, the team had risen to the top 5% of Compass agents in the region and earned recognition for completing the highest number of transactions for two consecutive years. In the same year, RealTrends recognized DAC as one of the top 1.5% of real estate teams nationwide, across all brokerages.

Rios and Baker agree that integrity is instrumental to their success. “Our agents have clients’ best interests at heart,” the two explain. “They take the time to get to know clients in order to help them find their perfect home. This level of care keeps our clients coming back and referring us to their friends and family.”

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downtownapartmentcollective.com