Ben Caballero has earned the title “real estate legend.” 50 years as a Realtor, 18 years as a builder, dozens of years as an innovator, and the first Guinness World Record holder for real estate sales.
Today, for the 6th time in a row, he is atop REAL Trends “The Thousand” list as published in The Wall Street Journal. The REAL Trends list is THE ranking of the top agent in the U.S.; highly coveted, it is well documented and the industry’s established benchmark for agent ranking.
Ben first submitted his 2012 production to REAL Trends for its 2013 “The Thousand” list because when he saw the 2012 list, he realized he could have been at the top of it for the past couple of years. Since 2103, Ben has been the #1 ranked agent in both number of sales and total dollar volume on the REAL Trends list. Every year since 2013 his numbers in both categories have exceeded the totals of the top-ranked teams!
His numbers are staggering
REAL Trends “The Thousand” List – Ben’s Numbers 2013-2018
| Year of List | # of Sales | Dollar Volume | Yr of Production |
| 2018 | 4,799 | $1,905,970,827 | 2017 |
| 2017 | 3,556 | $1,444,469,153 | 2016 |
| 2016 | 2,491 | $1,022,202,571 | 2015 |
| 2015 | 2,383 | $924,925,979 | 2014 |
| 2014 | 2,095 | $737,163,298 | 2013 |
| 2013 | 2,267 | $668,422,746 | 2012 |
Ben works with homebuilders, so his business model is very different. He has always said that he does not do what most agents do, but there are many things that Ben does that most agents do not. And every year, when “The Thousand” list comes out, a few people mistakingly think Ben is taking credit for a team, or that it is somehow unfair that he is ranked because his business model is different.
Ben wrote an excellent column published by Inman News about this, “Why agent rankings are based on production — not business model.” He made this vital point:
“The idea that one could create a universal standard to measure agent productivity and have everyone agree that it is measuring apples-to-apples just isn’t possible. That’s why rankings always come down to the number of sales and dollar volume.”
Ben also talks about the great diversity of real estate. We have agents selling all kinds of property: residential, industrial, commercial, land, farm, ranch, equestrian, hospitality, lake, and many other kinds of specialty properties – a list that goes on with dozens of niches for professionals.
He notes also points out that at one time REOs dominated our business. The top agent on the REAL Trends list one year was an REO specialist who used a platform to register record sales.
And how can you really compare apples-to-apples when it comes to dollar volume? We have a major disparity with coastal home prices. East and West Coast agents dominate the dollar volume REAL Trends list because average home sales prices are higher in those markets.
Myth dispelled: Ben has no team of agents
Finally, no matter how many time Ben says it, many people continue to say that he is taking credit for the work of his team and just putting his name on the listing. But Ben has no team of agents. His company has one other agent who works in existing home sales, not new home listings. Ben can handle this unearthly volume because his platform makes maximum use of technology.
A legend
Once again, Ben lives up to the billing of “legendary” because of what he has accomplished in – and contribute to – our industry. Don’t forget he was an Inman Innovator Award Winner and is nominated again this year. Gary Keller gave Ben the Pinnacle Award for Entrepreneurship and Ben has never been a KW agent! Those that know Ben well, and work with him, will tell you he may still be one of the hardest working professionals in the business today.
But do you want to know what is even more breathtaking? Ben is on pace to break his current record with his 2018 production numbers.
It’s appropriate that the Dallas NBA team is called the Mavericks because like his home market, Ben is also an independent thinker and certainly is one of a kind.
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