CHICAGO, April 28, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- @properties Christie’s International Real Estate, the Chicago-based brokerage firm that began as a four-person startup and has grown into the region’s #1 real estate brandi, is turning 25 this month and is celebrating its anniversary throughout the year with a series of events and initiatives honoring the agents, staff, clients and communities that have contributed to its success.
The company was established in April 2000 by Thad Wong and Mike Golden, Chicago’s top-producing real estate agents at the time. In an attempt to capitalize on the dot-com era and differentiate the firm from the city’s legacy brokerages, the co-founders arrived at an unconventional name, combining the “@” symbol, which had only recently become part of the lexicon through email, with the common descriptor of their stock in trade, “properties.”
Nine years later, @properties was the leading real estate brokerage firm in Chicago, thanks to its focus on innovation, collaborative culture, and embrace of emerging technologies.
In the early 2010s, to refocus the public’s attention on the intangible benefits of homeownership following the Great Recession, @properties created the tagline, “Love where you live,” A few years later, Wong shortened the tagline to a single word, <>love, and commissioned local artist Matthew Hoffman to paint the word in Hoffman’s signature script on the outside of the company’s Bucktown office. The mural became a popular destination for social media posts, ads, and even marriage proposals, and soon the logo was ubiquitous around Chicago. Today, it also graces the five-story wall of the company’s headquarters in River West.
Around the same time, the firm doubled down on its commitment to innovation. With a small in-house programming team, @properties built an end-to-end software solution for managing all aspects of the real estate transaction and client relationship. Known as pl@tform™, the system includes a CRM, Deal Management System, Digital CMA, digital listing and buyer presentations, marketing suite, and a pipeline management tool to enhance productivity.
Today, @properties Christie’s International Real Estate is the largest brokerage brand in the Chicagoland areai, with more than 3,100 agents in 42 offices in Northern Illinois, Southeast Wisconsin, Northwest Indiana and Southwest Michigan. It also has franchises in northern and eastern Michigan; Madison and La Crosse, Wisconsin; Indianapolis; Dallas and Austin, Texas; and Washington, D.C. And in 2021, @properties acquired the Christie’s International Real Estate network, with luxury brokerage affiliates in more than 50 countries.
“Our goal from the start was to create a different kind of real estate brokerage, one built on relationships, collaboration, innovation and the best agent support in the industry. A place where agents knew they could succeed more quickly than at other agencies, because we were 100% invested in helping them grow their business and serve their clients,” said Wong. “This focus on relationships has shaped our culture and has undoubtedly played a large role in our success.”
Golden adds: “We never say to ourselves, ‘We’ve figured it out.’ We’re constantly looking ahead, trying to figure out what to improve. But this milestone has given us a chance to reflect, and it’s pretty cool to see how far we’ve come. Of course, we couldn’t have done any of this without the hard work and support of so many agents and staff who have made @properties what it is today.”
@properties Christie’s International Real Estate kicked off its “25 Years of Love” celebration last week with an anniversary party in all of its offices. Additionally, the brokerage is ramping up its community-focused @ loves local program, which spotlights locally owned businesses. Later in the summer, the firm will host agents and staff at an outdoor party at the Salt Shed in Chicago, with live music and activities.
Key Milestones: @properties Christie’s International Real Estate
About @properties Christie’s International Real Estate
Established in 2000 by Thad Wong and Mike Golden, @properties Christie’s International Real Estate has grown into the #1 selling real estate brand in the city of Chicago and the greater Chicagoland areai. The company also created a proprietary suite of integrated technology tools, collectively known as pl@tform™, that allow agents to digitally manage all aspects of the client relationship and real estate transaction. @properties Christie’s International Real Estate operates as a distinct brand under the ownership of Compass (NYSE: COMP), the largest residential real estate brokerage in the United States by sales volume.
Attachments
Bella Paredes
Christie's International Real Estate
2197657682
bellaparedes@atproperties.com