Real Estate News

Chicago gets mighty hot when summer rolls around. This is the season to visit our beautiful Lake Michigan beaches and do whatever you need to do to keep cool. 

When it comes to staying cool, you might be tempted to close up the windows and bask in the air conditioning, but there are other ways of beating the heat. Our real estate agents in Chicagoland have some tips for keeping your home cool without blasting the AC. 

• Open your windows at night.
  Sounds simple, right? Even on hot days in Chicago, things tend to cool down as the sun goes down. Open up the windows in your house to take advantage of nature's air conditioning, or better yet, open the windows at opposite ends of the house to create a cross-breeze. As soon as the sun rises in the morning, close the windows and draw the curtains to keep that...

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We are pleased to announce that fellow independent brokerage, Dream Town, will become part of the Baird & Warner family. As a combined entity, we will now be the second-largest brokerage in the region, representing nearly 3,000 agents, loan officers, and staff providing comprehensive real estate services throughout eight city offices and a total of more than 30 locations across Chicagoland.

Throughout our 170-year history, we have sought to pursue strategic partnerships that enhance the value we bring to our agents and clients, strengthen our position, and sharpen our competitive edge. This expansion of the Baird & Warner family makes it the place for estate professionals who prioritize an agent-centric culture that is driven by support and focused intently on their success. 

"We quickly realized that our shared values, service offerings, and technology woul...

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Nothing says "summer" quite like hosting a backyard barbecue. The smell of food cooking over hot coals captures the mood of summer in Chicago like nothing else, and if you're anything like our real estate agents, you're more than ready to get the grill going. 

That being said, you may also be ready to make a few improvements to your outdoor living space before inviting all your friends and family over. Here's how to level up your grill game and get your backyard ready for BBQ season in Chicagoland. 

• Upgrade your grill. 
  If you've been using the same small, cramped barbecue grill for multiple seasons, it may be time for an upgrade. Especially if you're planning on hosting a get-together with lots of hungry guests. Charcoal grills are ideal for smoking meats and slow-cooking ribs and brisket, but gas gril...

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Are you ready for summer in Chicagoland? It's the season of street fairs and farmers markets, and days spent beachside along the beautiful Lake Michigan shoreline. For Chicago homeowners, the months leading up to summer also offer an opportunity to prepare for the season ahead. Our real estate agents are here to share five helpful tips for getting your home summer-ready!

• Wash your walkway and driveway. 
  Chances are, there's a lot of dirt, plant matter, and other assorted grime and debris all over your driveway and walkway from the colder months. As summer approaches, it's time for a cleanup. If there's a lot of loose material, start by sweeping it up with a push broom and dustpan (resist the urge to use your leaf-blower to avoid raising a major dust cloud). Then use a power washer to spray down hard surfaces...

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In 2024, Baird & Warner introduced its first new brand in four decades. We sat down with the chief marketing officer of Baird & Warner, Peter Papakyriacou, to learn about the motivations, inspirations and goals of the new look. 

Keep reading to hear what Peter had to say, and check out the full conversation on our rebrand below.

So, what motivated Baird & Warner to launch a refreshed brand identity after nearly 50 years?

This rebrand has been in the works for a while. When I joined the company 14 years ago, I made an effort to consolidate several brand variations into a much more streamlined, singular brand, which served us successfully for many years. However, as we continued listening to agents and managers and their feedback, it became clear that it was time to evolve the brand for today and the future.  

The biggest notable change was in the logo. Can you tell us about that?

We had had the boxed B&W logo for nearly the first thing we wanted to do was break out of the box —  literally and figuratively. We had been using the square boxy logo for decades, and it had limitations. We wanted a logo that felt like an evolution, so we kept the ampersand but went back to our full name instead of the B&W and pulled away the constraints of the box. Now we can incorporate the logo more seamlessly into all types of marketing and design. It also allowed us to represent the full breadth of our service by including the mortgage, Title, Sales, and Insurance in the logo lockup. 

What was the intention going into this new brand?

First and foremost, the purpose of this new brand was to support our agents' business. One of the core reasons to go through this rebrand was to get back to the name Baird & Warner in our logo. For more than 20 years, our primary symbol has been the B&W acronym, but we don't go by B&W — we go by Baird & Warner. That's where we have our brand equity, and that's the Baird family name that has stood the test of time. So it was important to bring that back to ensure we're presenting a unified identity and tapping into that brand awareness that exists in the market.  

As you mentioned, the Baird & Warner colors for a long time were black and yellow, but that shifted with the rebrand. Can you speak to the inspiration for those new colors and other elements of the brand?

Yes, our new colors are Deep Lake, a slate blue color, and Amber Wheat, which is an evolution of the yellow we had before. The color palette is meant to be emotive and elevated while giving a nod to our legacy as a 170+ year old Chicagoland company. Deep Lake, a reference to Lake Michigan, represents the vast resources we provide to agents — coaching, marketing, training, and all the person-to-person support. Amber Wheat is all about those Midwestern values and our ethics, our resilience as a company. 

Along with those colors, we have an expanded secondary palette that gives agents an opportunity to find a balance between the brokerage brand and their own personal branding they may have.

There are some other little hidden references in the brand that speak to our company and history. Can you tell us about those?

Yes, we have an amazing company archive at Baird & Warner, and so we spent the better part of a couple of years digging into our 170 years of history and uncovering a treasure trove of symbols, logos and design elements that we wanted to try and incorporate into the rebrand while still keeping it modern and sophisticated.

One element is the custom font we called BW Bow Tie, which honors the late John Baird, who was the former president of the company and the father of current CEO Steve Baird. He was very beloved and was a true embodiment of the values we believe in at the company, and we wanted to honor him in some way. The reason we called it Bowtie was because he was known for always wearing a bowtie —  it was his signature look.

We also created unique patterns and icons that provide a more robust library of design elements that can be used across our marketing and merchandise. The woven Bs and Ws for our name, as well as a refreshed version of an old logo that we call the Baird & Warner Seal, lend themselves to sophisticated wearable items such as a scarf, tie, or pins. 

 How do you see this brand fitting into the agent's businesses? What has been the response?

This brand should exist as a complement to their own brand. Most of our agents who have a personal brand have embraced the new identity. They feel it reflects their high level of sophistication, service, and expertise. And they also feel it gives their clients an aspirational element in their real estate journey. As mentioned before, they are particularly fond of the new color palette and the patterns we've introduced, as they provide an elevated, luxury element to the brand. 

As with any complete rebrand, there is always a risk of missing the mark. Thankfully, our agents have overwhelmingly adopted the new logo and its elements. And more importantly, reported several success stories where it helped them stand out.

Visit joinbw.com to learn more about how we help our agents succeed.