According to an annual ranking by Colorado-based RealTrends, the top real estate agent for six years running is based in Dallas. Realtor Ben Caballero was far and away the best, selling more than 3,500 homes.

The No. 2 seller, a realtor in Phoenix, sold 467 units. 

Contributing to Caballero’s success is his focus on listings from homebuilders — and Dallas is a hot market for home builders. Caballero’s firm, Homes USA, markets builders’ homes directly to buyers. He told the Dallas Morning News that his firm sells about 23 percent of the new homes in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. He works with many of the area’s top builders, including Highland, History Maker, Toll Brothers, CalAtlantic, McGuyer, First Texas, and Ashton Woods Homes. 

Caballero’s firm now has a staff of a couple dozen people, managing 1,200 active listings as well as 400 to 500 pending listings. Caballero himself initially started his career as a homebuilder, so he understood the need to connect builders to buyers. His service facilitates sales of new construction to be sold more quickly and easily through the traditional MLS channels. 

Although he is based in Addison and sells Dallas-Fort Worth properties, he also sells properties in other markets in the state, including Houston, Austin, and San Antonio.

As his staff continues to grow, he is eyeing expansion into other markets in the country, most likely into Florida and North Carolina.