Former Briggs Freeman VP Moves to Compass

Faisal Halum, one of Texas’ top-producing brokers, has moved to Compass from Briggs Freeman Sotheby’s International Real Estate.

Faisal Halum Group, his four-agent team, ranked second in Texas by volume with $188 million last year, according to RealTrends Verified.

Halum’s move comes as fundamental changes to the brokerage business spread across the industry, spurred by NAR’s landmark commissions settlement and continued high mortgage rates.

Beyond agent compensation, subtler changes are also happening in the Dallas market. Halum’s background in architecture, along with a degree in building construction, has helped him specialize in selling architecturally significant homes, estates and high-rise condominiums to high-profile athletes, celebrities and socialites. In particular, Faisal says Dallas condos are undervalued.

“Dallas has really never been known as a condo market — especially to locals it hasn’t — but that’s changing,” he says.

While Dallas buyers don’t normally spring for condos as often as single-family homes compared to other major cities, condos were sold for less per square foot on average than single-family homes in July, $240 and $248, respectively, compared to $261 per square foot on average for condos and $187 for single-family homes in Texas as a whole, according to flyhomes.

Halum has been active in the high-end condo market, but he has a solid footing in single-family home and estate sales; he recently facilitated the sale of a 9,000 square foot ultra-modern estate near Preston Hollow in May, last listed for $7.85 million, and another home last listed at $750,000 near Munger Place, according to Zillow. His sales volume this year, so far, is well over $100 million, he estimates.