Friday, August 26, 2011

Contest Prize: Fantastic Chicago Apartment

Ever want to live in a luxury apartment in a Chicago real estate high-rise?

There's one available in a prestigious Chicago tower, and this apartment is free.

It's the grand prize in the HGTV Urban Oasis 2011 contest; a one-bedroom, one-and-a-half bathroom luxury residence in the Trump International Hotel & Tower Chicago.

The 35th-floor unit was designed for the contest by HGTV interior designer Vern Yip to represent some of the best in Chicago architecture and history.

To learn more about this great prize, check out our story:

Fabulous Chicago Real Estate Up for Grabs


We'll give you a peek into the home and tell you how you can enter to win.

Friday, August 5, 2011

Be Cool: Xplode


These days, the best way to grow your business in the Chicago real estate market is to be cool—technologically cool, that is. New technology is coming out everyday, and you need to be in the know.

The Chicago Association of REALTORS is hosting the Xplode Conference on Friday, August 19 at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Chicago in order to teach real estate professionals how to expand their businesses through the use of technology.

Learn the latest tips and get advice from 25 social media, marketing and technology pros.

Some speakers include:

-Stephen Schweickart, co-founder and CEO of VScreen, the nation’s leading video services company within the real estate industry

-Kerm Foltz, Director of Agent Sales at Market Leader, a leading provider of software and marketing solutions to the real estate industry

-Ginger Wilcox, head of industry training at Trulia.com where she focuses on developing educational programs to assist real estate agents and brokers in growing their businesses

-David Friedman, President and Founder of Boston Logic Technology Partners, Inc. where he specialized in helping professional stay competitive online

Topics discussed will cover blogging, social media, digital transactions, mobile marketing, the revolution of video and search, syndication and digital listings.

After the conference is over, you are sure to be cool!

Get more details and register at http://chicago.xplodethis.com/. Also, visit the Xplode Facebook and Xplode Twitter pages for any news leading up to the conference.

Thursday, August 4, 2011

Chicago Firm Designing World's Tallest Building

Trump International Hotel and Tower is one of the city's tallest parcels of Chicago real estate, and it was designed by Adrian Smith.

The Burj Khalifa in Dubai is the tallest building in the world, and it was designed by Smith, too.

Now, the Chicago architect is at it again, designing what will be the tallest building in the world by far.

Smith and his Chicago-based firm, Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture, have developed plans to build the Kingdom Tower by a Red Sea port in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

The building will reach more than 1,300 meters. In comparison, the tallest building in Chicago and the country is the Willis Tower, and that stands at a mere 442 meters high.

Kingdom Tower will provide housing to an area that desperately needs it. The project is the first phase of