Dallas-based luxury real estate firms are taking steps to maintain local control as Compass expands its presence across Texas. Keith Conlon, CEO of Allie Beth Allman & Associates, recently acquired an ownership stake in the company through an equity investment with its parent, HomeServices of America. The move is intended to keep decision-making authority within Dallas as Compass consolidates teams following its recent merger with Anywhere Real Estate.
The Dallas luxury market remains distinct from other major Texas cities due to the influence of locally founded brands. In 2025, agents from Allie Beth Allman handled the sale of 6601 Hunters Glen Road for $30.5 million, marking the state’s highest-priced residential transaction that year. By contrast, Compass represented both sides of Houston’s largest deal at 2110 River Oaks Boulevard, listed for $18.9 million, while Kuper Sotheby’s International Realty managed Austin’s top sale at 13330 Shore Vista Drive.
Among the top ten residential sales in Dallas-Fort Worth last year, most involved agents from Dallas-based firms such as Allie Beth Allman, Ebby Halliday Realtors, Dave Perry-Miller Real Estate or Synergy Real Estate. These companies continue to have a strong presence in high-end transactions despite competition from national brands.
In Austin and Houston, national brokerages play a larger role. The Austin market features companies like Coldwell Banker and Engel & Volkers alongside Compass and Moreland Properties—the latter being the only significant local competitor appearing multiple times among top deals. “All of our key competitors are typically Compass, Sotheby’s, Christie’s. You know, these bigger brands that are all franchises and basically now all owned by Compass,” said Sarah Railey, president and broker of Moreland Properties.
Compass dominates Houston’s luxury sector as well; only one of last year’s top ten deals did not involve a Compass agent. That exception was managed by Nancy Almodovar of Nan & Co., who said: “When we go pitch to a luxury listing, it’s typically just Compass and us.”
These local firms have previously resisted recruitment efforts by Compass during aggressive expansion campaigns in 2018 and 2019—campaigns that led some competitors to close their doors entirely according to Almodovar.
Moreland Properties declined discussions about joining Compass at that time. “Compass would come in and buy companies, not necessarily shutter them,” Railey noted.
Allie Beth Allman lost around 35 agents to Compass during this period—a smaller proportion compared to other firms such as Briggs Freeman Sotheby’s—but Conlon believes recent changes will help maintain independence amid growing industry consolidation: “The last thing I want to do is hamstring our organization because things aren’t going well in Northern California or New York, wherever it may be,” he said.
