Call Agent

Dawn McKenna

Get to know the top Chicago real estate agent for Coldwell Banker.











Dawn McKenna: #1 Luxury Real Estate Broker in The Midwest

By any measure, Dawn McKenna is one of America’s most successful, creative, and sought-after luxury real estate agents. She is not only the #1 Coldwell Banker agent in Illinois, for the past decade she has been the #1 agent in the exclusive Chicago suburb of Hinsdale, IL, and a member of the Coldwell Banker President’s Elite top 1% of agents. That success has led her to become a founding member of two exclusive, invite-only, international networks; the International Luxury Alliance, which connects Coldwell Banker, Corcoran, and Hampton International’s most successful, global agents to share leads and best practices, and Luxury Presence, which is made up of only the top agent of any agency in the most important luxury markets in the world. With the International Luxury Alliance and Luxury Presence, Dawn truly has an unmatched global reach.

Since her 2003 debut as a Coldwell Banker Rookie of the Year, Dawn has been responsible for over $1.5 billion in real estate sales. Combining a ravenous work ethic and impeccable style with an energetic, youthful, and service-oriented approach, Dawn’s record sales have been recognized by the Wall Street Journal, RealTrends rankings, Forbes, and Crain’s Chicago Business. When her clients demanded her help in new markets and she realized that her unique model could be replicated, in 2016 Dawn formed the Dawn McKenna Group. 

By choosing agents that match Dawn’s qualities but bring their own local expertise to a carefully selected group of new destination and feeder markets, Dawn has created a growing, recognizable brand with 21 team members now operating out of five offices. With the addition of industry veteran Micheal Anthony and in-house marketing, photography, and social media teams, the DMG is fast becoming a national leader.

Following her strategy of pairing her global reach with local expertise in feeder and destination markets, in 2017, the DMG expanded to offices on North Michigan Avenue in Chicago’s Gold Coast and prestigious 5th Avenue in Naples, Florida. Success soon followed as the DMG’s Naples team quickly became the No. 2 teams in Naples for Coldwell Banker. Next up in 2019 were the exclusive Chicago North Shore suburbs of Winnetka and Lake Forest, where the DMG was joined by local experts with more than 40 years of combined experience and a record of consistent success.

As the final piece of her strategy, in 2018 the DMG introduced DMG Rentals, a program designed to capture recent college graduates as future DMG clients by helping them find the perfect Chicago rental. The DMG now serves its clients in all of the stages of their lives, from their first apartment to their suburban family home and their south Florida vacation spot.

The strategy seems to be working. Since the expansion of the Dawn McKenna Group in 2017, the team has listed more than 250 homes, assisted over 150 buyers, found apartments for more than 500 renters, and concluded more than $600 million in total transactions.

Much of Dawn’s success is due to her incredible network and database of premier clientele. Dawn has been a trusted “go-to” source for players and management of the Chicago Bulls and the Chicago Blackhawks, Chicago TV and radio personalities, and industry leaders from blue-chip companies such as Deloitte, Merrill Lynch, Goldman Sachs, and McKinsey Consulting. She is also regularly trusted on the buy and sell sides by attorneys from prestigious law firms such as Kirkland & Ellis, McDermott Will & Emery, Sidley Austin, and Baker McKenzie. And now with a powerful team behind her, the DMG is being called in to consult with and represent builders, developers, and financers with tens of millions on the line. They realize that Dawn and the DMG know what people want, where they want it, and what they will pay.

Rounding out the package is Dawn’s personal life, especially her experience as a wife of 25+ years and a mother of four active, successful children. Family life is paramount to Dawn and she takes every available opportunity to spend quality time with her family, especially attending her kids’ sporting events and traveling, catching up on the latest fashion trends, cooking, and being an avid philanthropist.