How We Did ItThe D Magazine list of Best Real Estate Agents in Dallas is produced in partnership with Crescendo Business Services, an independent research and services firm. Crescendo mailed nearly 15,000 nomination ballots to area residents who recently purchased homes and 4,500 nomination ballots to D Magazine subscribers. An additional 250 ballots were sent to mortgage and title companies, who are often best able to judge a real estate agent’s technical skills and knowledge.
On the ballots, recipients were asked to nominate only real estate agents whom they knew through personal experience and to evaluate them based upon nine criteria: customer service, communication, finding the right home, integrity, negotiation, marketing the home, market knowledge, closing preparation, and overall satisfaction. Only original ballots—no copies—were accepted as valid.
Crescendo scored and screened each nominee with the Texas Real Estate Commission database to make certain that licenses were up to date and the agent had no disciplinary action. Then, before the list was finalized, nominated real estate agents were reviewed by a blue-ribbon panel of local industry experts. The panel consisted of realty company executives, professional and trade association officers, and others directly involved in housing-related businesses.
Although panelists’ comments were incorporated into the final score, safeguards were built into the review process to reduce the ability of panel members to influence the composition of the final list on the basis of company affiliation. The resulting list represents slightly more than 1 percent of licensed agents in the Dallas area.
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