REACHing for New Tech

Chicago-area REALTORS® will be among the first to see local technology startups that could help them further modernize the real estate experience.

That’s thanks to the Chicagoland REACH Lab, a collaboration between the Chicago Association of REALTORS®, Mainstreet Organization of REALTORS®, North Shore-Barrington Association of REALTORS® and Midwest Real Estate Data (MRED). REACH Labs are an outgrowth of the National Association of REALTORS® REACH technology accelerator. They connect real estate professionals with startups focusing on real estate, mortgage, home services and insurance through quarterly innovation showcases. Chicagoland REACH Lab hosted its first showcase at the end of 2022, featuring three new tools, including an app that gives brokers access to real-time measures of tax liability.

Any local or state association can launch a REACH Lab, and no investment commitment is required. The REACH scale-up team provides guidance, along with a framework and set of tools to help associations find new tech companies, evaluate new technology, mobilize members to share tech they've discovered and more.

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We’re starting to recruit what we’re calling scouts, members with an ear to the ground for emerging technology—who may have relationships with developers, entrepreneurs or investors—to help us really build this [REACH Lab] program throughout the region.

-Zach Wahlquist, CAE, Chief Operating Officer, Chicago Association of REALTORS®

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