The Doris Jacobs Group Moves to Douglas Elliman

The thing about agents is that about every four years, on average, they change brokerages. Selling real estate may look easy, but it’s one of the toughest, most brutal, and often the loneliest occupations out there.

You eat what you kill, you compete with sharks on an hourly basis, you are rejected 24/7, and you run your own business as an independent contractor — unless, of course, you are one of the few agents employed by a large corporate broker (OpenDoor, etc.) for about $40K a year.

Dallas luxury real estate icon Doris Jacobs, however, did not move around. She was one of the original founding partners of Allie Beth Allman & Associates 35 years ago when Allie Beth and a cadre of agents founded the namesake firm, which was then bought by Berkshire Hathaway in Nov. 2015 for an undisclosed sum. Berkshire never touched the firm, leaving Allie Beth Allman in full control. As she told me two weeks ago when I spotted her at Cafe Pacific, “I will work forever!”

So, Doris was not just an Allie Beth agent, she was part of the fabric of ABA.

So the Dallas Business Journal’s Bill Hethcock scored himself a big scoop when he broke news on Easter Monday that Doris Jacobs, a grand dame of Dallas real estate, had moved to an outside firm: NYC-based Douglas Elliman. Elliman is one of the oldest real estate firms in the U.S. that recently moved to Texas and has been aggressively recruiting Dallas agents from other firms to join up. The pressure almost resembles the way Compass heavily recruited agents a few years back, though I have heard no reports of $100,000 sign-on bonuses.

“This was a bittersweet decision, but we are looking forward to leveraging Elliman’s national and international reach along with their robust marketing, public relations, and technology platforms to bring more exposure to our client’s listings,” Jacobs told CandysDirt.com. “There is an exciting buzz around Douglas Elliman’s presence in Dallas, and Teffy, Kim, and I are thrilled to be part of it and be on the forefront of the expansion.”

Jacobs told Hethcock the opportunities at Douglas Elliman “are too good to pass up,” in an interview you can read behind the Dallas Business Journal paywall.

“I’m extremely grateful for my association with Allie Beth, who is very special to me, but I feel like this will take us to another level,” she said in the interview. “It will bring us to the international level, which is good for so many people moving here from around the world.”

Well known as the “Queen of Beverly Drive,” — did I crown her that? — Jacobs knows right off how many homes she has sold on one of Highland Park’s most prestigious streets: more than 58 homes and more than any other real estate agent in town. Doris, her late husband Jack (who sold The Melody Shop at NorthPark to work in his wife’s successful business), and her daughters have surpassed $1 billion in sales selling homes from Highland Park, University Park, Preston Hollow, and Bluffview to Frisco and onward.

Hethcock says the Doris Jacobs Group is known for its extensive knowledge of the Dallas market, a large client base, record sales, repeat and referral business, and eye for architecture and design. This is true. He also says she is known for selling homes that have never been placed on the market, but that’s also true for every luxury-focused agent I know.

More and more home sellers are eschewing listing in the MLS in this crazy-hot market, which is making agents more vital than ever. Stay tuned: We will have more on off-market sales, and more reactions to Doris Jacob’s departure from ABA to her exciting new home at Douglas Elliman. She is one of the hardest-working agents God has ever created.

Here is Hethcock’s Q&A with the Queen of Beverly Drive, Doris Jacobs:

Are you seeing more international interest in homes in the Park Cities?

It’s amazing what’s happening in Dallas. The people are coming from all over the world, moving to Dallas.

What’s your take on the luxury market in Dallas?

It’s a very different market. Things are going so quickly. We have exposure all over Dallas. It’s unbelievable how much prices are going up in Dallas.

Do most of the homes you sell hit the MLS, or do you typically sell them before?

I have a lot of sales that are not sold on the market. There’s such a lineup for it.

How did you get the name “Queen of Beverly Drive”?

I just seem to have sold a lot of homes there, and more homes, I think, than anyone else.

How many homes on Beverly Drive have you sold?

Fifty-eight. Some of them I’ve sold three times. I have many repeat customers.

Do you see prices continuing to skyrocket as they have been in the Dallas luxury home market?

We’ve set a new norm. We’re far beyond where in the past, they would typically fall. It looks like with so many people coming here, and the demand, I would say I don’t see that (prices falling). It just continues going up.

What’s the biggest challenge in the luxury market right now?

Lack of inventory available? It really is.

What’s the answer to that?

We have many people wanting to move, but we can’t find something for them. That’s holding things up. We have to put them together. We have to create the domino effect. We’ve got to find somewhere for them to go, which has been difficult because there’s just not enough inventory with so many people coming here from out of town.

Where outside of the Park Cities are you seeing high demand?

Frisco. Far North Dallas There’s such a large demand because so many people are moving north. So much has opened up out there. The Cowboys have opened their new fields (at The Star at Frisco) and brought a lot of people in that area. A lot of businesses are going north, leaving the local area. And, of course, Austin is just unbelievable.

What do you love about residential real estate that makes you want to get out of bed and do it every day?

I love people. I’m out there socially and business-wise, and I feel compelled to be with people. I enjoy marketing and the success of selling, which is great. I love my job, and I love finding the perfect home for people and getting to help create a legacy for them.

Why did you decide to join Douglas Elliman?

My extensive reach nationally and internationally will allow us to market our clients’ property to a wider audience and amplify exposure. We’re excited about Elliman’s first-class marketing and technology. Especially with the number of people moving to Dallas from all over. It’s amazing how Dallas has grown.