Sales Awards Methodology

5 Things to Know

Here are five commonly asked questions that compose the fundamental methodology behind the Chicago Association of REALTORS® top producer recognition. If you seek a more detailed breakdown for each category of recognition, explore the Overall Methodology sections below.

WHAT ARE THE SALES AWARDS?

The sales awards recognize active Chicago REALTOR® members for sales production in both units and volume. Award categories are then broken down by individual and team status, rookie status, neighborhood concentration of production, and property type (as it applies to rental production and commercial production). 

WHO IS ELIGIBLE?

All active Chicago Association of REALTORS® members, both primary and secondary, as of the data verification deadline are eligible for top producer recognition that year. Anyone who is not a member of the association as of midnight that day is not eligible. 

WHAT IS A TOP PRODUCER?

Top producers are the top 5% of producing members in a given year, NOT the top 5% of all members in the given year. 

Top producer thresholds are set by the active membership’s production in a given year, which means the minimum production level for top producer recognition will vary each year.

DOES EVERY PROPERTY TYPE QUALIFY AS RESIDENTIAL PRODUCTION?

Unless stated otherwise, residential property types of Detached Single, Attached Single, and Two to Four Units are considered as eligible production for sales awards recognition. Property types outside of these may qualify in non-residential sale categories. 

HOW IS SALES AWARDS DATA TRACKED? 

All residential and rental data is exported from the Midwest Real Estate Data (MRED) MLS. Transactions not entered into MRED by midnight of the verification deadline are not eligible for a member’s production in the given year. 

For commercial transactions, both MLS and non-MLS transactions are eligible for the sales awards, however, commercial award recognition is by application only. To be considered for a commercial award based on said application, members must provide a copy of a closing statement for each sale transaction and/or the lease specifics and signature page for each lease transaction. 

Overall Methodology

Top Producer thresholds will vary year-to-year based on the overall production of all Chicago REALTORS®. In a busy market, thresholds might go up; in a slow market, thresholds might go down. Quick links to data methodology:

RESIDENTIAL DATA METHODOLOGY: 

Thresholds are calculated in six (6) steps to ensure they align with market changes and the production of all Chicago REALTORS®.

  1. On the posted data verification deadline for each year, a complete transaction list is exported from MRED for residential property types Detached Single, Attached Single, and Two to Four Units. It includes transactions with a status of Closed and Closed Date of January 1 to December 31 of the award year for all active Chicago Association of REALTORS® members as of that date. 
  2. The transaction list is consolidated into (1) a total units and (2) a total volume report. These reports are separated into individual units/volume and team units/volume. Team recognition is based on whether a team and team ID is formed within MRED. 
  3. TOP PRODUCER RECOGNITION: Those awarded at the Top Producer threshold configure the top 5% of members who sold properties in the award year. 
    • For example: if 10,000 members sold properties, then 500 would qualify for the top 5%. If the 500th member sold $10,000,000, the threshold is set at $10 Mil + for top producer volume. Additionally, if the 500th member sold 25 properties, the threshold becomes 25 properties for top producer units. 
  4. MEDALED TOP PRODUCERS: On the individual units report and individual volume reports, the top 1% of those producing members establish the medaled categories thresholds. 
  5. Of the top 1% of producing members, the top 10% receive a platinum award, the next 15% receive a gold award, the next 25% receive a silver award, and the final 50% receive a bronze award. The first and last member at each threshold establishes the units and volume range for that medal category. 
    • For example: 1% of 10,000 members is 100. The top 10% would become the 10 platinum top producers, the next 15% would become the 15 gold top producers, the next 25% would become the 25 silver top producers, and the final 50% would become the 50 bronze top producers. 
    • If the 10th ranked person in the platinum category sold 100 units, and the 10th ranked person sold $70,000,000, those become the minimum thresholds for platinum recognition that year. If the 15th-ranked person in the gold category sold 90 units, and the 15th person sold $50,000,000 then those become the minimum thresholds for gold recognition up until the threshold for platinum. The same methodology continues through silver and bronze. 
  6. The same overall top producer and medaled categories thresholds set by the individuals are then applied to the separate teams’ units and volume reports. 

This methodology results in the following thresholds, based on our example: 

Units Example Volume Example
Top Producer: 25-49 Units – Top Producer: $10.0M – $24.9M –
Bronze: 50-64 Units 50% Bronze: $25.0M – $34.9M 50%
Silver: 65-89 Units 25% Silver: $35.0M – $49.9M 25%
Gold: 90-99 Units 15% Gold: $50.0M – $69.9M 15%
Platinum 100+ Units 10% Platinum: $70.0M+ 10%

All data in this example is hypothetical.

NEIGHBORHOOD DATA METHODOLOGY: 

  1. On the posted data verification deadline for each year, a complete transaction list is exported from MRED for residential property types Detached Single, Attached Single, and Two to Four Units. It includes transactions with a status of Closed and Closed Date of January 1 to December 31 of the award year for all active Chicago Association of REALTORS® members as of that date. 
  2. The transaction list is consolidated into (1) a total units and (2) a total volume report. These lists are sorted by MLS neighborhood. 
  3. UNITS: In each MLS neighborhood, a member must have completed at least three (3) or more transactions within that neighborhood to be considered for recognition. The member with the top units for that MLS neighborhood will be recognized as the top producer for units. 
  4. VOLUME: In each MLS neighborhood, a member with the top volume within that neighborhood will be recognized as the top producer for volume. 

RENTAL DATA METHODOLOGY: 

  1. On the posted data verification deadline for each year, a complete transaction list is exported from MRED for rental properties. It includes rental transactions with a status of Rented and Rented Date of January 1 to December 31 of the award year for all active Chicago Association of REALTORS® members as of that date. 
  2. The top 1% of individual members who completed a rental transaction in the award year are recognized as rental top producers. The top 10% of those are recognized in the platinum rental category, and the next 15% of those are recognized in the gold rental category. 
    • For example: if 6,000 members completed a rental transaction, 1% would be 60 rental top producers. The 60th-ranked member sets the threshold for rental production that year. 
    • The platinum rental top producers would be the top 10% of those 60 individuals, making 6 platinum rental top producers in that scenario. 
    • The gold rental top producers would be the next 15% of those 60 individuals, after the first 6, making the next 9 individuals gold rental top producers in that scenario. 

Teams are not recognized for rental transactions. Volume is not recognized for rental transactions. 

ROOKIE DATA METHODOLOGY: 

Any new member of the association who received their real estate license number up to 60 days prior to joining the association is eligible for a Rookie of the Year Sales Award the first full calendar year following their join date. See below for detailed eligibility and methodology for recognition. 

  1. On the posted data verification deadline for each year, a complete transaction list is exported from MRED for residential property types Detached Single, Attached Single, and Two to Four Units. It includes transactions with a status of Closed and Closed Date of January 1 to December 31 of the award year for all active Chicago Association of REALTORS® members as of that date. 
  2. The transaction list is consolidated into (1) a total units and (2) a total volume report and each member is placed into 1 of 5 regions: North, South, Central, West, and Suburban/Outside. A member’s region is determined based on their office address as of the data verification deadline. Any member whose office does not have a Chicago address is placed in the Suburban/Outside region. 
  3. ELIGIBILITY: Each report is then filtered by the member’s join date with the association, including all members with a join date from the full calendar year preceding the Sales Awards year. 
    • For example, a member joining the association between January 1, 2023 – December 31, 2023 would be eligible for the 2024 Rookie of the Year Sales Award, recognized in the Spring of 2025. 
  4. The real estate license issue date for the member(s) with the top units and the top volume sold in each region is then verified. If the issue date of their real estate license is: 
    • Up to 60 days before their join date, that member becomes the Rookie of the Year award recipient for that region’s unit and/or volume category. 
    • Greater than 60 days before their join date, the next member on the transaction list is verified until a member who meets the award criteria is reached. 
  5. A member may receive up to two Rookie of the Year awards in a given year if they are the verified award recipient in both units and volume for their region. 

COMMERCIAL DATA METHODOLOGY: 

All Chicago REALTORS® and CommercialForum members are eligible to receive a CommericalForum Sales Award for both MLS and non-MLS transactions; however, CommercialForum Sales Awards are by application only. An application must be submitted by the posted deadline to be considered for one of the thirteen CommercialForum Awards categories. 

  1. A Commercial Sales Awards application is published each award year with a posted deadline. 
  2. A member may submit an application for one or more of the following commercial award categories that includes both MLS and non-MLS transactions that has a closed date or rented date during January 1 – December 31 of the award year:  
    • Multi-Family 5+ Sales $ Volume  
    • Multi-Family 5+ # of Transactions 
    • Retail Leasing Gross (Sq. Ft.) 
    • Retail Leasing # of Transactions 
    • Retail Sales # of Transactions 
    • Retail Sales $ Volume 
    • Industrial Sales # of Transactions 
    • Industrial Sales $ Volume 
    • Industrial Rental # of Transactions 
    • Industrial Rental Gross (Sq. Ft.) 
    • Office Rental # of Transactions 
    • Office Sales $ Volume 
    • Office Sales # of Transactions 
  3. After the posted application deadline, all applications are reviewed for each of the award categories. Of the applications received, the member with the highest volume, units, or gross square footage is identified. 
  4. The identified category winner is contacted to provide a copy of a closing statement for each sale transaction and/or the lease specifics and signature page for each lease transaction. Failing to verify and provide this information may result in forfeiture of any award. 
  5. A member may receive multiple commercial awards in a given year if they are the verified award recipient in multiple categories. 

Commercial Awards do not have a set threshold like our residential awards. They are evaluated and compared against the applications received in the award category in a given year.