Jennifer Ames is recognized as one of Chicagoland’s most respected real estate professionals, known for her strategic intelligence, marketing acumen, and deeply client-centered approach. With more than $2.4B in career sales, she has guided generations of Chicago families and executives through meaningful real estate transitions.
Jenny offers a rare blend of market expertise, hands-on guidance, and empathy. Clients describe her as calm, thoughtful, and exceptionally well-prepared. She approaches each relationship with humility and curiosity, helping make complex decisions clear. Her work is grounded in meticulous attention to detail.
Having built and renovated several homes, she is fluent in construction and design, offering informed guidance on how spaces live and how investments can be optimized. She shares her trusted network of resources to reduce stress throughout the process.
Jenny is also known for storytelling through marketing. She studies the nuances of each home to understand what sets it apart, and she presents those qualities in a way that helps buyers connect. A trained photographer, she personally photographs the homes she represents.
Her team includes a full-time marketing director with an advertising background, producing thoughtful campaigns across print, digital, video, and social media.
Her record includes representing many of the region’s most exceptional residences—co-ops, condos, historic estates, architecturally significant homes, and luxury new construction—with record-setting sales in Chicago and the North Shore, including Chicagoland’s highest single-family sale in 2024. She ranked among Chicago’s Top 10 Brokers for 20+ years.
In 2019, Jenny and her husband, Paul, opened Engel & Völkers Chicago to create a more aligned, service-driven environment. At Engel & Völkers, brokers are known as advisors, reflecting a commitment to long-term guidance rather than just transactions. As a member of the exclusive Engel & Völkers Private Office network, Jenny connects clients to trusted advisors worldwide, offering continuity wherever life takes them.
Jenny’s family has been part of Chicago’s civic and cultural life for more than 160 years. She has continued that tradition through leadership roles with the Lincoln Park Zoo, the Art Institute of Chicago, and, more recently, Timeline Theater. She also founded the Engel & Völkers Pride Summit, an annual gathering advocating for fair housing and expanded access to homeownership.
Home Types:
Co-op, Condo, House, MultiFamily, Lot/Land, Townhouse
Years of Experience:
32
Education:
BA Yale University
