The Chicago Association of REALTORS®, the “Voice for Real Estate” in Chicago since 1883, represents over 17,000 members from all real estate specialties including commercial sales, development, property management, appraisal, auctions and residential sales.
Learn how we help our 17,000+ members. Membership options are available for licensed real estate professionals and those affiliated with the real estate industry!
REALTORS® Real Estate School offers all kinds of real estate licensing and training. Browse self-paced, online training or live classes in our modern, downtown classrooms!
How can we help your business succeed? Your membership includes multiple resource guides on industry topics, tools to increase your knowledge and market statistics to help your serve your communities.
You helped make 2019 an unforgettable year! From raising thousands of dollars for charity to networking at 68 events, together, we set new standards for success. We are proud of what we achieved and can’t wait to see what we accomplish together in 2020!
Membership
Our Member Care team made themselves available to you – answering your calls, responding to your emails and chats and more!
Community Outreach
We were present and engaged with many of you at:
90th Annual Bud Billiken Parade
On August 10, we gathered our Chicago REALTORS® family and walked in the 90th Annual Bud Billiken Parade to support our community! Thank you to all of our wonderful volunteers!
REBUILD Project
Chicago REALTORS® and CommercialForum members volunteered at the Rebuilding Exchange, turning reclaimed wood salvaged from demolition sites into a conference table and twelve step stools, which were then donated to an Oak Park orphanage called Hephzibah Home.
We gave back to the community through:
Placemaking
Thanks to a MegaBoard grant from the National Association of REALTORS®, CAR began three placemaking projects designed to kickstart commercial corridors in Chicago’s communities, including a transit study of Chicago’s Austin community, the partial funding of the Lakeview Lowline and a mural of Gwendolyn Brooks in the Chatham neighborhood.
Red Cross Blood Drive
In June, the CAR Foundation hosted a Blood Drive at the CAR Central and West Towns offices, in support of the American Red Cross. Thank you to those who donated blood — your gift truly saves lives!
Smoke Detector Giveaway
On November 2, the Chicago Association of REALTORS® Foundation Board of Trustees participated in a Smoke Detector Giveaway hosted by the American Red Cross of Chicago and Northern Illinois.
Hall of Fame
John Rutledge, the founder, president & CEO of Oxford Capital Group, LLC, was inducted to our Hall of Fame on September 26, 2020. He specializes in large-scale, lifestyle hospitality-oriented real estate, with over $3 billion of transactions including 13,000 hotel rooms, 3,000 senior housing units and 1,000 residential units.
Brande Hampton Emerging Champion Scholarship: This scholarship provides female Chicago REALTORS® the ability to participate in NAR’s federal lobbying activities at the May Midyear Legislative Meetings and/or the NAR Annual Conference.
Chris Pezza Property Management Scholarship: This scholarship provides reimbursement to an Illinois real estate pre-licensing student seeking a career in property management.
Over the year, we had a total of 8,758 registrants for classroom, online and self-study courses. We helped start 1,386 real estate careers through our pre-licensing courses.
Events
We hosted 68 events for you to network and grow!
We processed 9,416 registrations total over the year
View highlights from our events here:
2019 Inaugural Gala
We advocated to protect our industry and saw major wins and accomplishments in:
Defeating a proposal for increased transfer taxes in the spring.
Successfully advocating to remove language from the Just Housing Amendment that required landlords to hold a unit vacant during a criminal background dispute.
Keeping rent control from being a reality in Chicago and Illinois.
We also hosted a Mayoral Candidate Forum in January to hear from the 2019 mayoral candidates on issues directly affecting the real estate industry.
We also continued our popular Coffee with the GADs meetings.
We facilitated conversations between Chicago REALTORS® and elected officials and policy makers, including Assessor Fritz Kagei, Alderman Gil Villegas, Alderman Ariel Rebroyas, Alderman Ray Lopez, Senior Mayoral Staffer and Cannabis Coordinator Paul Williams and members of the Congressional Black Caucus.
RPAC
We were able to impact public policy because of you. Thank you to our 2019 Major Investors for investing in the REALTORS® Political Action Committee (RPAC).
Our magazine continues to be a go-to source for the latest tools, resources, industry news and member highlights. It’s made available by mail and online.
We reached you through social media with:
To keep up to date and stay in touch with us, you can connect with us below.
We were a go-to source for local and national media. Our leadership appeared in local, state and national news outlets to speak about the most pressing issues, trends and successes in Chicago real estate.
Here are some highlights:
We also added new resources to our video library, which you can check out here.
CommercialForum
We refocused and expanded our commercial division with five brand new, commercial focused events, which included:
CommercialForum Networking Breakfast: This breakfast gave real estate practitioners an economic forecast and an in-depth look at the local commercial real estate market.
Opportunity Zones Summit: Commercial real estate investors, brokers, and developers alike joined us to learn more about the Qualified Opportunity Zones program and opportunities.
Diversity Summit: Members participated in a summit to learn from diversity leaders’ tips for success.
Advocacy Breakfast: This breakfast took a deep dive into key policy issues facing Chicago’s commercial real estate industry.
CF/CCIM Roundtable Networking Event: CommericialForum and CCIM teamed up to host roundtable discussions about all the hottest topics in commercial real estate.
Global
We were awarded NAR’s Platinum Global Business Council Achievement Program for the second year in a row!
We hosted a total of nine events specifically focusing on our global council and presence, including:
The Chicago Association of REALTORS® Young Professionals Network (YPN) is a growing group of career-minded real estate professionals who say abreast of the latest tools, resources and networking opportunities available to them as REALTORS®.
Here are some of YPN’s 2019 highlights:
Hosted seven networking breakfasts, which gave members the opportunity to connect and learn from leading real estate professionals. Check out the recordings and recaps here.
Raised $5,932 for YPN charities at the YPN Kickball Tournament at OZ Park. The YPN Charitable Fund is made possible by the Chicago Association of REALTORS® Foundation. Check out the photos here. The money raised from this event was provided to:
Chicago House: A social service organization that supports individuals impacted by HIV/AIDS and the broader LGBTQ community with housing, health and employment support.
My Block, My Hood, My City: Provides youth with new experiences and exposes them to possibilities beyond their own communities. This organization also helps teenagers overcome the poverty and isolation they face, boosting educational attainment and opening them to opportunities that make a difference in their lives.
Your Connection to State and National Leadership
Your fellow Chicago REALTORS® made sure you were represented throughout the National Association of REALTORS® and Illinois REALTORS®. Check out the 2019 leadership at the state and national levels:
We can’t wait to see what we’ll accomplish together in 2020!
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We Apologize for the Inconvenience
Our phones are temporarily down. Please email membership@chicagorealtor.com for any immediate needs. We apologize for the inconvenience – thank you for your patience!
Precautionary Measures and Information Regarding COVID-19
Your health and safety is of the utmost importance to us. As COVID-19 is predominantly spread through close contact, out of an abundance of caution, all events through April 30 will be either canceled or postponed, except for Coffee with Your GADs, which will take place virtually. This includes our annual Sales Awards, which we are working to reschedule.
If you have registered for one of our upcoming events, look for an email with further details. All tickets for paid events will be automatically refunded. Please allow 3-5 business days to see the refund on your bank statement. Questions? Please reach out to our events team.
Precautionary Measures and Information Regarding COVID-19
As COVID-19 is predominantly spread through close contact, out of an abundance of caution, all in-person classes scheduled through April 30 will take place virtually.
RRES staff has reached out to those of you who have registered for an affected class with an option to transfer into an online option or reschedule for a later classroom date. CAR to You is available in the meantime to assist you with your education needs and we have a variety of classes being offered online and via webinar for your continued development.