Published August 19th, 2026
A top-performing real estate team isn't the one with the best ads, it's the one whose sales data, local knowledge, and client communication you can actually verify before you sign anything. Whether you're buying your first home in Henderson or listing a luxury property in Summerlin, the difference between a team that performs and one that just markets itself well shows up in nine specific, checkable signs. Not every group of real estate teams marketing themselves as "top" holds up to scrutiny once you check the numbers. Here's what to look for.
1. Real, Verifiable Transaction Volume From a Top-Performing Real Estate Team
Ask for actual numbers: total sales volume for the past 12 months and, number of closed transactions the figures that reflects a team's actual production, not just listings taken. A top-performing real estate team should be able to produce this data on request, not gesture at it.
huntington & ellis's 2025 Top Teams by Nevada Sales Volume
To put real numbers behind what strong performance looks like, here's how our own top teams closed out 2025 across Nevada — ranked by sales volume, along with total sides (transactions) closed:
- No. 1 — The Craig Tann Group: $485.93 million in total sales volume and 877 sides.
- No. 2 — The Jack Greenberg Group: $102.33 million in total sales volume and 150 sides.
- No. 3 — The Mumm Group: $78.18 million in total sales volume and 150 sides.
- No. 4 — The DeBartoli Real Estate Group: $65.97 million in total sales volume and 103 sides.
- No. 5 — The Collective Group: $64.76 million in total sales volume and 89 sides.
- No. 6 — The Cordero Group: $40.79 million in total sales volume and 85 sides.
Combined, these six teams closed nearly $838 million in total sales volume and more than 1,450 sides in a single year, per huntington & ellis's internal 2025 team rankings. That's the kind of team-level detail — not just a brokerage-wide total — that's worth asking for when you're comparing options: request the specific team's numbers, not just the whole company's.
2. Deep, Neighborhood-Level Local Market Knowledge
Las Vegas isn't one market — it's a dozen distinct submarkets, each with its own pricing patterns, HOA quirks, and buyer pool. A team that only knows the Las Vegas Strip-adjacent condo market isn't equipped to price a custom home correctly. This kind of specificity is what separates top real estate teams from generalists — and it's a core measure of real estate team performance that you can actually test before hiring anyone.
Look for agents who can speak fluently — with specifics, not generalities — about Summerlin, Henderson, Green Valley, North Las Vegas, MacDonald Highlands, and Southern Highlands — including differences in home styles and lot sizes, community amenities, HOA structures and fees, new-construction options, commute times, school zoning, and current inventory trends within each neighborhood.
A quick test: ask a prospective agent to name three active listings in the specific neighborhood you're targeting and explain, unprompted, how each is priced relative to recent closed sales nearby. Vague answers are a red flag.
3. Full-Time, Performance-Driven Agents
Part-time agents who sell one or two homes a year are a different category of professional than agents who work real estate as their sole occupation. Neither is inherently a worse person — but if you're evaluating performance, the distinction matters, and it tends to show up clearly at the team level.
Take our own top-ranked team as an example of what this looks like in practice. The Craig Tann Group is led by Craig Tann, who serves as both the team's lead and broker-owner of huntington & ellis, bringing 23+ years of experience in the Las Vegas market to the team's day-to-day strategy. Every agent on the team works real estate as a full-time occupation — not a side business — and the results back it up: RealTrends ranked The Craig Tann Group the No. 1 team in Nevada and No. 3 nationally in its 2025 rankings, and 18 individual agents from the team earned a spot on RealTrends' 2025 list in their own right.
Whatever team you're evaluating, ask directly: is every agent on this team full-time, and can their production be verified against an independent, third-party ranking rather than in-house marketing claims alone?
4. A Track Record That Spans Multiple Market Cycles
Las Vegas has been through boom, bust, and recovery more than once in the past two decades. A team that's only operated during a single up-cycle hasn't been tested the way one that's navigated 2008, the 2020 pandemic swing, and the higher-rate market of the past few years has.
That kind of staying power usually traces back to leadership. Craig Tann, team lead of The Craig Tann Group and broker-owner of huntington & ellis, has spent 23+ years working through every phase of the Las Vegas market — the run-up before 2008, the recovery that followed, the 2020 pandemic swing, and the higher-rate environment of the past few years. That experience doesn't stay with him alone: it shapes how he coaches agents on his team to price a listing correctly, set expectations with buyers, and adjust strategy as conditions shift from a seller's market to a buyer's market and back again. A team led by someone who has only operated in one type of market can only pass down what they've actually seen. When you're evaluating a team, ask your agent about the team lead's track record: how long have they been leading the team through different market conditions, and how has that experience shaped the way agents on the team are guiding clients today?
5. Demonstrated Negotiation Strength on Both Sides of a Deal
Negotiation is where a team's value is easiest to see and hardest to fake. For sellers, that means pricing strategy, staging recommendations, and the ability to create competition among buyers rather than accepting the first offer that arrives. For buyers, it means knowing when to push on inspection findings, when a low offer will simply lose the house, and how to structure contingencies that protect you without making your offer unattractive in a competitive situation.
Ask a team for a specific example: a recent deal where their negotiation directly changed the outcome — a price reduction after an inspection, an escalation clause that won a multiple-offer situation, or a seller concession they secured for repairs. Teams with real negotiation strength have these stories ready; teams without it will speak only in generalities about being "tough negotiators."
6. Marketing That Actually Gets a Listing Seen
A team's marketing should be measurable: professional photography and video as standard (not optional upsells), syndication to the major listing portals, targeted digital advertising, and — for luxury or unique properties — a plan for reaching out-of-state and international buyers, not just local foot traffic.
Ask to see the actual marketing plan for a recent, comparable listing: what channels were used, how many showings resulted, and how the property's final sale price compared to its original list price. A data-backed marketing strategy should leave a paper trail you can review.
7. Direct, Responsive Client Communication
One of the clearest ways a real estate team's structure shows up in your actual experience is communication. Will you be working with the agent whose name is on the sign, or will you be routed through a rotating call center of assistants who don't know the specifics of your transaction? Neither model is automatically wrong, but you should know which one you're getting before you sign.
A strong sign: the agent (or a consistent, named point of contact) responds to calls, texts, and emails within the same business day, proactively updates you after every showing or offer, and can explain, at any point in the process, exactly what happens next and why.
8. Access to a Full-Service Network — Lending, Escrow, and Relocation
Buying or selling rarely happens in isolation. A top real estate team should be able to connect you to vetted partners for financing — including pre-approval guidance through a partner like note Mortgage — as well as title and escrow, inspections, and contractors, without pressuring you to use any single provider.
If you're relocating to Las Vegas from out of state or overseas, this matters even more. huntington & ellis, for instance, runs a dedicated in-house relocation department, backed by its affiliation with Leading Real Estate Companies of the World® — a network spanning 550+ markets in 70+ countries — so an out-of-area move can be coordinated on both ends of the transaction rather than handled piecemeal. If relocation is part of your situation, ask any team directly whether they have a dedicated relocation resource or if you'll be handling the logistics yourself.
9. Reviews and References You Can Actually Verify
Testimonials on a team's own website are a start, but they're curated by definition. Cross-check them against third-party review platforms (Google, Zillow, Realtor.com) where reviews can't be selectively removed, and ask for two or three references from clients who closed in the past six months — recent enough that the details are still fresh and relevant to how the team operates today.
When you talk to a reference, ask specific questions: Did the team meet the timeline they promised? Were there any surprises at closing? Would they use this team again for a different type of transaction (buying versus selling, or a different price point)? Specific answers are far more useful than a star rating.
Frequently Asked Questions
What's the difference between a real estate team and a solo agent?
A real estate team is a group of licensed agents working together under a shared brand, systems, and often a lead agent or broker, which allows them to cover more showings, respond faster, and specialize (some team members focus on buyers, others on listings or marketing). A solo agent handles every part of a transaction personally. Teams generally offer more availability and broader coverage; solo agents can offer more continuity with a single point of contact throughout your transaction. Neither structure guarantees better service — the individual agents and their track record matter more than the label.
How many transactions should a top-performing real estate team close per year?
There's no single industry-wide threshold, but context helps: the median individual agent nationally closes only a handful of transactions per year, while agents on established, full-time teams in active markets like Las Vegas often close well into the double digits. What matters more than a specific number is whether the volume is verifiable, recent, and relevant to your type of transaction (e.g., luxury sales versus first-time buyer purchases).
Should I choose a large real estate team or a smaller boutique brokerage in Las Vegas?
Larger teams typically offer more agent availability, more marketing resources, and broader in-house networks (lending, relocation, title). Smaller or boutique operations may offer more direct access to a single experienced agent. The right choice depends on what you value more: bench depth and resources, or a smaller, more personal point of contact. Ask any team, regardless of size, exactly who will be handling your transaction day to day.
How do I check a real estate team's track record before hiring them?
Ask directly for their transaction count and sales volume over the past 12 months, request two or three recent client references, and cross-check reviews on independent platforms like Google or Zillow rather than relying solely on testimonials posted on the team's own website. You can also look up an agent's license status and any disciplinary history through the Nevada Real Estate Division's public license lookup.
Do real estate teams charge different commission rates than solo agents?
Commission rates are negotiable in every transaction and aren't set by whether an agent works solo or on a team. Rates can vary based on the brokerage, the local market, the scope of services provided, and the specifics of your property. Always ask for the commission structure in writing before signing a listing agreement, and don't assume a team automatically costs more or less than an individual agent.
What questions should I ask a real estate team before signing a listing agreement?
At minimum: who specifically will handle my transaction day to day, what is your average days-on-market for properties like mine, what does your marketing plan actually include, what is the length and cancellation policy of this agreement, and can you provide two recent references. A team confident in its performance will answer all of these directly and specifically.
Can a real estate team help if I'm relocating to Las Vegas from another state or country?
Yes — but ask whether the team has a dedicated relocation resource rather than assuming every team does. Some brokerages, including huntington & ellis, operate an in-house relocation department affiliated with a global referral network, which can coordinate logistics, timing, and even connections to agents in the market you're leaving. This is worth asking about directly if your move involves selling a home elsewhere while buying in Las Vegas.
How do I know if a real estate team really knows a specific neighborhood?
Ask them to walk you through recent comparable sales in that exact neighborhood — not just the broader Las Vegas Valley — including specifics like HOA fee ranges, typical days on market, and any pending zoning or development changes nearby. An agent who can speak in specifics about a submarket like Southern Highlands or Green Valley, rather than the city as a whole, is showing real local expertise rather than general market awareness.
Sources
- huntington & ellis — Company Overview & 2025 Sales Data
- huntington & ellis — Homepage
- huntington & ellis — Relocation Department
Ready to Evaluate Your Options?
Whether you're buying, selling, or planning a move to the Las Vegas Valley, it's worth holding any team you're considering to these nine standards before you sign an agreement. If you'd like to talk through your specific situation — a purchase, a sale, or a relocation — huntington & ellis would be glad to walk you through our own numbers and approach.
