How a rebel Realtor became Chicago’s No. 2 power player in luxury real estate

Reflecting on her nearly three decades long — and counting — real estate career, Chicago-based @properties Christie’s International Real Estate broker Carrie McCormick believes it was the rebellious nature she had as a child that has contributed to her success.

“I was and still am a rebel spirit,” McCormick said. “I don’t like following the norm or following trends and this has kind of helped me have this fearless attitude throughout my career. I have just tried to stay really focused, not let the negativity get to me and, of course, I’ve had failures along the way, everyone does, but what is most important is the lessons I have learned from it.”

McCormick said her willingness to take risks and fully commit to her path in the industry has led her to where she is today. And that is a pretty great place to be. In 2024, McCormick closed 155 transaction sides for $197.01 million in sales volume according to 2025 RealTrends Verified Rankings data. This performance was good enough to earn McCormick the No. 2 by sales volume rank in Chicago in the RealTrends Verified City Rankings. 

HousingWire recently caught up with McCormick to chat about her career and the lessons she has learned along the way. 

This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.

Brooklee Han: Can you tell me a bit about how you got started in the real estate industry? 

Carrie McCormick: I was in corporate America before real estate, and I realized early on that I was a little bit more entrepreneurial. When you have that kind of DNA it can be difficult to be in corporate America. One day I was taking a walk through the West Loop part of Chicago — this was in the late 90s — and I stumbled upon a construction site and asked what they were building. We chatted and the gentleman there asked if I was interested in a job selling this new construction building. I agreed. I literally went back, got my real estate license, quit my corporate job and jumped into real estate. 

The first decade or so of my career was in development working with developers and then around 2012, @properties approached me about being a broker with them. By then, the development space and whole economy had kind of shifted, and I decided to take another chance and enter the real estate brokerage world. 

BH: Is there anything from your corporate career that you feel like has helped you in this second act?

McCormick: There is a lot of discipline to being in corporate America — all of those rules and protocol — and I think having that background has helped me make sure I have structure in my business. Also, being in corporate America I learned how important connections are and how to properly network — the importance of keeping in touch with people, never burning a bridge and doing the right thing by people. Those things might sound easy, but when you are building a career and a business it is important to stay grounded and stay connected with the people who have helped you along the way. 

BH: Can you tell me a bit about your lead generation strategy?

McCormick: When I started in residential real estate I already had a fairly robust network to build my business off of and at this point most of what I do is referral-based. But, I never take my foot off the gas, especially now with how quickly technology and AI are evolving.

Right now, I’m really focused on trying to figure out how best to leverage AI in my business. Obviously real estate is a very personal business and there will never be a robot version of Carrie, but it is trying to learn how to leverage these different technologies to help support my business and make things easier. 

This year, and something I plan to continue doing, I’ve been participating in different networking groups and working more with groups that give back to the community and support causes I care about. I feel like if you give without the intention of receiving something back, it really is a better way to live and a better way to run a business. 

Even though most of my business comes from referrals, I still do postcards, magazine ads, social media, and I go to industry events. I do what I can to support other brokers to help continue building my network. 

BH: What is your biggest piece of advice to new agents starting out?

McCormick: Your network is your net worth. That is a mantra that I live by. Agents should continue to grow their network and put themselves in places where they think their clients are. Also, be your own brand ambassador — don’t copy others. And find a good mentor. That was one thing I never had, and I just did a crash course along the way, but I think finding a good mentor would have really helped me.