Dallas-Fort Worth Real Estate Leader Doubles Down on Team as Market Slows

Many real estate professionals in Southlake, TX, and across the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex are preparing for a slower stretch in the housing market. Justin Nimergood, who leads the Top Gun Team at Epique Realty, believes the next 12 to 24 months will be difficult, and he is planning for it now instead of waiting to see how hard it hits. “It’s our belief that the next 12 to 24 months in the real estate market is going to be tough,” Justin said. His response is not to cut back. It is to put more into his team while others pull back.

When business slows, the natural reaction is to cut spending, cancel marketing, and wait it out. Justin points to Warren Buffett’s long-held approach of investing when others retreat as a better model for agents and teams. “While everyone else is pulling back, I’m actually going to be doubling down on our team,” he said. That means more investment in the team itself and in its infrastructure over the next year. His reasoning comes down to timing. Agents who stop building during a slowdown often have little in place when the market turns. “We’re not going to sit back and just grind it out for the next 12 months,” he said. The goal is to come out of the downturn better positioned than competitors who spent the year in survival mode.

A big part of the plan is changing how clients meet the team. Many agents focus almost entirely on production. Justin sees a slower market as the right time to focus on connection instead. The team is launching a new website with individual agent pages, a mortgage calculator for buyers and sellers, and an AI-based home valuation tool. Combined with the team’s YouTube channel and social media accounts, the idea is to give buyers and sellers a reason to spend time with the team before they ever pick up the phone. “We want them to know us almost before we even have that first conversation with them,” Justin said. His view is that people who already know, like, and trust an agent are more likely to reach out when they are ready to move. For homeowners who want a low-pressure starting point, the team’s property valuation tool is one example of that approach. The practical takeaway for agents: if business slows, use the extra time to show up consistently. Share what you know about the local market, explain the process, and let people get to know you. That work pays off when activity picks up again.

Slow markets push many agents to work longer hours for fewer deals. Justin expects that to catch up with people. “I think a lot of people are going to face burnout next year,” he said. His team is set up so agents can cover for one another. One Top Gun Team agent will spend most of November in India, and the team will keep her clients moving while she is away. Justin has a cruise planned for next May and said he is not worried about stepping away. For any agent, the lesson is to decide now who can back you up. A trusted colleague, a team or a clear handoff plan makes it possible to rest without letting clients down. Without one, many agents end up choosing between burning out and pulling back from their business.

A tougher market does not stop people from needing to move. Job changes, growing families and downsizing still happen. What changes is how much buyers and sellers benefit from an agent who is steady, informed and still investing in the work. Justin put the goal plainly. The first priority is to survive the next 12 months. The bigger one is to use that time well enough that the team comes out ahead when the market turns.