Everything’s Bigger in SERHANT: A Texas Arrival Story
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Ryan Serhant conquered New York.
He’d done it the hard way — open houses in the rain, clients who changed their minds 17 times, brokers who looked at him like he was a doodle wandering into a board meeting. He’d survived the 2008 crash, the pandemic, and the brutal warfare of Manhattan co-op boards. He’d built a brokerage from scratch, starred in two reality shows, written books, launched an education platform used in 130 countries, and accumulated 10 million social media followers — which, for context, is more people than live in the entire state of New Jersey.
Then he developed a proprietary AI platform called S.MPLE. He had SERHANT. Studios, producing copious amounts of content.
He even had a hair product budget that could fund a small municipality, which would serve him well at his next stop: Texas.
But Texas was different, including the weather from one end of the state to the other. He knew it the moment the wheels touched down in Houston and the humidity hit: this was basically like Manhattan in August — 24/7.
Houston: The First Handshake
Susana Sarvis was waiting for him at the office with welcoming breakfast burritos. With 17 years in the industry, the Houston native had an impressive resume: former VP of Brokerage Operations at Real Brokerage, veteran of Compass, and alumna of John Daugherty Realtors — one of Houston’s premier luxury brokerages.
“We close differently here,” Susana said. “We say ‘bless your heart,’ and then we take the listing.”
Big D: Success is NOT Enough
We who live in Dallas truly think it’s the center of the universe, except for City Hall. It seems like everyone is moving here, and Serhant knows it. Hence Matt Keeton. Top-ranked agent, multiple years running. Top 5% of all agents in Texas. Closed $20 million in volume over the past 12 months.
“The whole country is moving here,” Keeton said factually.
“I know,” said Ryan. “I just followed them.”
And the truck-driving Aaron Shockey team out of the prolific Southlake/Flower Mound ‘hoods: $150 million in career sales, also huge on give-back, founder of Cleats for Athletes, a nonprofit outfitting middle school kids in underserved communities across DFW with sporting equipment.
Michael Petersen rounded out the new Serhant Dallas contingent — Petersen Real Estate Group, $300 million in career transaction volume, $35 million in the past twelve months, and a commercial real estate practice that covered every corner of the DFW Metroplex. Also included: team members Tara VanNatta and Tevin Johnson with him.
“I didn’t make this move because I wasn’t successful,” said Petersen. “I made it because success is no longer enough.”
Ryan pointed at him. “Write that down.”
Austin & San Antonio & The Hill Country
What I’m liking about Serhant already, besides being adorable, is that he came to Texas and did not ignore one region over another.
San Antonio, gorgeous homes with that historical draw: David and Alanna Garcia of Evoke Realty, Alanna being a former PR exec, both launching on their own after attending a Serhant conference. $380 million in career sales later, best Realtor, named one of the Best Real Estate Companies in the city, tons of accolades.
Said Alanna. “We’ve watched all your content. Every. Single. Video.”
In Austin, he snagged Kasey Fagan, her “boutique by design” firm; Ellen Steele, Steele Portfolio Real Estate, rebranded for SERHANT as The Ausperity Group. More will follow.
So, Ryan Serhant has come to Texas with a total of 13 founding agents, six independent brokerages in four cities, combined agent sales of $1.5 billion. This is going to be very interesting to watch.
He Reinvented the Real Estate Broker as a Media Company — you all were doing ads in community newspapers and print magazines, Serhant foresaw attention as a brand and the power of social media and got in early.
He’s not just famous, he sells — consistently a top-producing broker in the cutthroat New York City market.
He Built Real Infrastructure with S.MPLE, his AI platform, which automates things agents hate — paperwork, follow-up, listing descriptions, marketing workflows.
SellIt.com has members in 130 countries. He gives methodology.
And he owns Manhattan on Netflix. Real Estate is definitely changing with the advent of AI and post NAR settlement. Every agent needs to become a little bit of a media personality now.
Ryan Serhant just saw it coming five years before everyone else. Take a look:
