@properties Christie’s International Real Estate has announced it 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, according to a release. In an attempt to capitalize on the dot-com era and differentiate the firm from the city’s legacy brokerages, the co-founders stated that they 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.”
In the early 2010s, to refocus the public’s attention on the intangible benefits of homeownership following the Great Recession, @properties stated that it created the tagline, “Love where you live,” A few years later, Wong said he 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. It is also on the five-story wall of the company’s headquarters in River West.
Today, @properties Christie’s International Real Estate noted it is the largest brokerage brand in the Chicagoland area, with more than 3,100 agents in 42 offices in Northern Illinois, Southeast Wisconsin, Northwest Indiana and Southwest Michigan. The brokerage added that it has franchises in northern and eastern Michigan; Madison and La Crosse, Wisconsin; Indianapolis; Dallas and Austin, Texas; and Washington, D.C. In addition, 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,” said Wong. “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. This focus on relationships has shaped our culture and has undoubtedly played a large role in our success.”
Golden added, “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 stated that it 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.
To learn more, visit atproperties.com.
