Cover Story

Best Developer: Perry Homes

Perry Homes is one of the largest and most respected new home builders in Texas. The firm offers designs for every lifestyle in the most desirable communities. Perry Homes is dedicated to providing high-level customer service, during and after the sale. The continuing loyalty

Best Team: Tina Brickhouse Team, Keller Williams Realty

Tina Brickhouse has lived in The Woodlands Area for over 12 years. She and her team share a vast knowledge of the neighborhoods, amenities and schools, which allows them to effectively work with a  variety of buyers and sellers. The team’s leader

Best Brokerage Website: BernsteinRealty.com

Bernstein Realty is recognized as one of Houston’s leading boutique real estate firms, offering a comprehensive portfolio of real estate services that meet the needs of a variety of lifestyle choices and price ranges. Whether you love city life,

Lender of the Year: HomeStart Capital

HomeStart Capital licensed mortgage lenders have 20yrs of combined mortgage lending experience. Each is an expert in their field and always provides the highest level of knowledge, availability, service, honesty and hard work. “I go to sleep thinking and

Best Dressed: Martina Shirey, Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Gary Greene

While Martina Shirey began her career in real estate only four years ago, she’s a 35-year Houston native and believes her long-earned knowledge of the local market gives her a distinct advantage over the competition. “I put as much

Managing Broker of the Year: Michael Bossart, Keller Williams

Michael Bossart is an energetic, well-liked team leader with extensive real-life experience in the real estate industry. Team members have come to rely on Bossart’s steady guidance and creative approach to team-building. Bossart encourages his team members to become active

The Cost of Pricing: How Technology, Psychology and Timing Impact Listing Value

As they say, “Everything’s Bigger in Texas.” Well, except the recent economic recession. Texas has managed to avoid many of the most damaging effects of the mortgage crisis, which is why the state’s real estate market has flourished in its wake,

TEAM EFFORT: Banding Together Can Be a Boon for Your Business

One of the greatest challenges facing real estate agents is the choice of working as a solo operator or joining with one or more agents to form a team. The question can lead to agonizing over the pros and

Enhance Your Business With Online Client Reviews

In the digital age, almost everyone scours online reviews before they make any kind of purchase. People won’t rent a hotel room or read a book until they know its online star rating and have insight from others who

Amidst Customer Review Revolution, RealSatisfied Specifies the Concept

The Internet has ushered in many changes to the U.S. economy, and one of the most pronounced has been the customer review. Though Consumer Reports, Consumer Digest and other publications have offered reviews of products and services for decades,

Handling Online Reviews: A Challenge in Every Industry

The delivery and role of customer reviews have evolved dramatically and handling feedback is no longer an internal process The Internet has become such a prominent cog in our world that no industry is quarantined from its relevance. Doctors,

How Do Houston Brokerage Websites Rank?

Houston Agent analyzed Web traffic data from Alexa.com, a leading analytics firm, and collected its findings in the infographic below. The numbers were pulled the week of May 18, and the brokerages are ranked in alphabetical order. How does your brokerage rank

What Houston Brokerages Have the Best Social Media Presence?

Houston Agent crunched the social media numbers on Facebook and Twitter, and collected the findings in the infographic below. The numbers were pulled the week of May 18 directly from the brokerages’ social media pages, and the brokerages are ranked in

Managing Millennial Expectations

Once upon a time, it took little work to convince young adults to enter the real estate market. They finished school and entered the workforce, and soon began thinking about starting families and purchasing a home as soon as

The Lending Issue

Loosening credit and more savvy consumers are helping to keep Houston’s housing market healthy and active entering 2015. Catherine Reilly, a partner and loan originator at DMR Mortgage, sees mortgages as easy to get for consumers who have the

What to Know About FHA’s Recent Changes

President Obama and the FHA recently announced that it would reduce its mortgage insurance premium from 1.35 to 0.85, which makes FHA loans even more affordable. The FHA, which is overseen by HUD and insures mortgages with down payments