RE/MAX Hot Air Balloon To Make Educational Visit To Clissold School In Chicago On April 2

Program Sponsored by RE/MAX Northern Illinois Real Estate Network

The students at Henry Clissold School, 2350 W. 110th Pl. on the South Side of Chicago, will get an exciting introduction to hot air ballooning when the RE/MAX Hot Air Balloon and its crew visit the school on April 2 as part of an on-going interactive educational program developed by the RE/MAX Northern Illinois real estate network.

The students and staff at the school will learn about various aspects of ballooning, including its history, the scientific principles involved and a demonstration on how the balloon functions. Weather permitting, the program will be presented at 9:15 a.m. outdoors on the school grounds, and the 75-foot-tall balloon envelope will be inflated with hot air.

Otherwise, the program will be moved indoors to the gymnasium where the balloon envelope will be inflated with cold air so that students can walk inside it as part of the educational presentation.

RE/MAX Town And Country Of Aurora Back In Familiar Hands

Office Serves 2nd Largest City in Illinois Real Estate Market

RE/MAX Town and Country in Aurora, Ill., returned to is roots in early March when the office was reacquired by its founder, John McEnroe, who has been a leader in the northern Illinois real estate industry since 1969.

McEnroe, 63, sold the office to Wayne and Ted Laatz in 2005 but continued to manage it. When the opportunity arose to reacquire the office, McEnroe said he had no hesitations.

RE/MAX Town and Country now has 25 agents, including 10 who recently joined the office. With the Aurora office playing a key role, RE/MAX agents listed 1,255, or 30.8 percent, of all residential properties sold in Kane County during 2008. They also led the county in buyer representation, assisting buyers with 1,026 transactions. Aurora is Illinois’s second largest city and plays a major role in the Illinois real estate market

“We expect 2009 to be a challenging year, but we are well positioned to capitalize on the opportunities for new growth that should emerge in 2010 and the years to follow,” said McEnroe, a native of Aurora who followed his mother, Dorothy McEnroe, into the real estate business. She founded McEnroe Real Estate in 1956. The REMAX office was opened by John McEnroe in 1986.

In 1989 McEnroe was elected President of the Greater Aurora Association of Realtors, and later that year, he was given the “Above the Crowd!®” award by REMAX Northern Illinois. In 1992 he was honored as Broker/Owner of the Year by the RE/MAX Northern Illinois real estate network. He also has earned a number of professional designations including Certified Residential Specialist (CRS), Certified Real Estate Brokerage Manager (CRB) and Graduate of the Realtor® Institute (GRI).

Broker/Owners Of RE/MAX Experts In Buffalo Grove Win International Honor For Management Skills

Office Is a Top Performer in Metro Chicago Real Estate Market

Jay Blessent and Andee Hausman, broker/owners of RE/MAX Experts in Buffalo Grove, Ill., and leaders in the metropolitan Chicago real estate market, recently were named Broker/Owners of the Year – Single Office for 2008 by RE/MAX International.

The award goes to the owner or owners of a single RE/MAX office who provide outstanding leadership within the office, in the RE/MAX organization and the broader community. Winners also must demonstrate a creative vision for the future of their business and are selected from among 2,500 RE/MAX franchisees in the United States and Canada who operate a single RE/MAX office.

At the RE/MAX International awards ceremony in Las Vegas, Blessent and Hausman were recognized for their success at attracting and retaining agents, improving the operations of their office and helping RE/MAX expand its share of the local real estate market to 37.9 percent at year-end 2008.

They also were saluted for their active participation and leadership within the RE/MAX organization in the Chicago real estate market and at the national level.

Hausman and Blessent, who are a married couple as well as business partners, already were highly successful RE/MAX agents when they acquired RE/MAX Experts in 2003. Since then, with Blessent devoting his full attention to managing the operation, they have doubled the number of agents in the office to 34 and made extensive improvements in the facilities and training it offers.
Hausman, who focuses her attention primarily on leading a successful sales team, remains one of the top sales producers in the metropolitan Chicago real estate market.

Hausman and Blessent shared the award in the single office category with the broker/owners of a RE/MAX office in Alberta, Canada.

RE/MAX Raises $8.1 Million For Children's Miracle Network

RE/MAX Agents in Northern Illinois real estate market break record

RE/MAX® real estate agents across North America raised more than $8 million for Children's Miracle Network, a Salt Lake City-based charity, in 2008. From the time that RE/MAX began its relationship with Children's Miracle Network in 1992, RE/MAX associates have raised more than $93 million for the cause. RE/MAX Agents in the northern Illinois real estate market set their own record.

“We are so proud of the support our agents have shown for Children's Miracle Network, especially during this economic downturn,” said Mike Reagan, senior vice president of brand marketing at RE/MAX International. “The bottom line remains that the millions of kids with health challenges who benefit from Children's Miracle Network still need our help, and we're glad so many of our dedicated agents have been able to give so much to these deserving kids.”

RE/MAX International is the official real estate sponsor of Children's Miracle Network, and offers many options for real estate agents to become involved with the charity.

The RE/MAX network in the northern Illinois real estate market reported that its 3,000 agents raised $284,000 for Children’s Miracle Network in 2008, surpassing the 2007 total of $241,000 by 18 percent. It was the largest percentage increase in donations reported by any of the RE/MAX regions in the United States.

“Our agents went above and beyond in 2008 to assist Children’s Miracle Network and the great work of the hospitals that it supports,” said Jim Merrion, regional director of the RE/MAX network in northern Illinois, the Chicago real estate leader.

“Words can't describe how grateful we are to have the support of RE/MAX and their extensive network of real estate agents,” said Val Durrant, director of corporate development for Children's Miracle Network. “We continue to cherish our relationship with RE/MAX, and look forward to another great year of support in 2009.”
Children's Miracle Network is a non-profit organization dedicated to saving and improving the lives of children by raising funds for children’s hospitals. Each year the 170 Children's Miracle Network hospitals provide the finest medical care, life-saving research and preventative education to help millions of kids overcome diseases and injuries of every kind.

The 3,000 RE/MAX associates in northern Illinois are pleased to support the efforts of the hospital through a variety of fundraising activities as they continue to lead the Illinois and Chicago real estate markets.

RE/MAX 1ST, A Chicago Real Estate Office, Opens In Elmhurst

A new Chicago real estate franchise has come to Elmhurst, Ill., where the first RE/MAX office in Illinois opened in 1977. In a bow to that history, the new office has been named RE/MAX 1st, and it is located at 129 W. 1st Street in the Elmhurst town center.

The office is owned by three long-time friends, Michael and Edward Kress and John Wassinger, who first met while attending junior high school. Wassinger, 51, has been a Chicago real estate broker since 1986 and will serve as the managing broker of RE/MAX 1st. Mike Kress, 49, and Ed Kress, 50, are experienced builders and general contractors and handled the build out of the new office in what was once a bakery. Both Kress brothers live in the nearby Bensenville area.

“By locating in the town center, we have given ourselves great visibility, as well as the opportunity to build a strong relationship with other members of the business community,” said Wassinger.

The space will accommodate up to 40 agents, and according to Wassinger, it will be a virtually paperless office featuring the best of contemporary technology.

“We want to create one of the most agent-centric environments in the metropolitan Chicago real estate community, with emphasis on agent support and on the best technology to make agents’ lives easier and more productive,” said Wassinger. He noted that the office support staff is headed by Kathy Pullia, who brings 27 years of real estate experience to the job.

“The agents in our office serve a number of communities in both Cook and DuPage counties, but being based in Elmhurst is a real plus for us because the Elmhurst real estate market has remained remarkably stable recently,” Wassinger said. In 2008, 448 homes were sold, compared to 478 in 2007. The average time required to sell a home rose to 194 days in 2008 from 181 days in 2007.