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About Betty

“Betty is by far the best real estate agent anyone can ever hire without a doubt.” – Min and Jung

No One Will Treat You Better

Betty Hood is a residential real estate professional in Austin,Texas. She is known for superior service, transparency, integrity, and discretion. Her wise advice, boundless energy, honesty, analysis, and friendly rapport with those of all ages and experience make her a strong and passionate advocate for her clients, both buyersand sellers.

Betty began her real estate career in 1998 at Coldwell Banker’s Austin office in Westlake. While there, she earned the distinguished President’s Circle award multiple times, and she was the first agent in the region to earn the Qualified Service Certified Platinum award. In 2008 she began her own company, Betty Hood Real Estate, LLC. This change allowed her to focus on client service without the corporate pressure of ever higher production goals.

A number of prominent organizations recognize Betty for her professional work in Austin. The Five Star award recognizes agents who excel in key attributes of customer service as surveyed by clients and industry peers. Betty has received this award ten of the last eleven years. She has been honored as a member of the Elite 25 and Platinum Top 50 multiple times.

Betty’s educational background facilitates a data-based, factual perspective on the market. Her formal education includes a Math/Biology Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Kansas and a Master’s Degree in Computer Science from Duke University.

Betty is a member of the Austin Luxury Network, an organization of real estate professionals who focus on high-end real estate. This connection is critically important to her buyer-clients of high-end real estate. The importance of these professional relationships does not stop there, however. She values her relationships with all competent real estate professionals so that she can best serve her clients, whatever the client’s real estate needs.

Betty’s new clients are virtually all personal referrals. Betty now frequently assists the children of her original clients, parents of those original clients, plus friends and other family members with their real estate needs.

Betty’s idea of service goes beyond what one might expect. While showing properties to her clients with two little boys, it meant stopping the car to check out a tarantula in the middle of the street. For her clients who were forced to move out-of-state suddenly due to an unexpected need for medical treatment, it meant a lightened burden: Betty sold their home, then their furniture, and then their car.

Betty assists clients in much of the greater Austin area. She is particularly familiar with the Eanes/Westlake market where she has lived over thirty-seven years.

Contact Betty if you are interested in buying or selling real estate in Austin!

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Real Estate Designations & Certifications

  • Certified Residential Specialist (CRS)
  • Certified Luxury Home Marketing Specialist (CLHMS)
  • Real Estate Negotiations Expert (RENE, begun 2015)
  • Accredited Buyers Representative (ABR)
  • Certified Negotiations Expert (CNE)
  • Graduate Realtor Institute (GRI)
  • Certified Internet Professional (ePRO)
  • Certified Home Marketing Specialist (CHMS)
  • Senior Real Estate Specialist (SRES)
  • Licensed Real Estate Broker, Texas, 2008-present
  • Licensed REALTOR®, Texas 1998-present
  • Member National Association of Realtors 1998-present
  • Texas Association of Realtors 1998-present
  • Member Austin Board of Realtors 1998-present

A Background Well-Suited for Serving Others!

Betty has vast experience and wisdom gained through her many years of taking great care of clients.  She has put her great educational background and prior work experience to task in all transactions.  Betty has continued her training through a multitude of real estate certifications and accreditations. When not at work for her clients, Betty has been an important and prominent part of her community through many volunteer activities., furthering her network of resources. Her awards and recognition demonstrate further that Betty truly stands out! Click on the icon below to view Betty’s full Resumé…

When it comes to the difficulties of a long distance move, the struggles of a new job or the stresses of finding a new home, Betty has been there, too. Read Betty’s personal Austin story…

Betty’s Story

Austin has been my home since July of 1983. I arrived in Austin not knowing anyone, and I was seven months pregnant with our first child.  I had worked as a Systems Engineer for Data General Corporation (a “mini-computer” firm) in Houston, and although the Data General Austin office was much smaller, I was able to transfer to the same position.  I was the only female in the office other than the secretary.

My husband Jerry had finished his residency and was starting work at The Austin Diagnostic Clinic (ADC). It was his first job outside of the academic world. He was doctor number 54 there.  Now that number is in the hundreds.

Looking back, we were dealing with a lot of stress factors:  two new jobs, new city, knowing no one, first baby, changing doctors, and the need a find a home.  Adding to our stress was the fact that our home in Houston had not sold.  We had arrived in Houston in 1981 when the market was booming; in 1983, the market was “bust”. Our realtor recommended that we rent our home there, and we did.

We were cautious about buying in a hot market again, and the market in Austin was hot, hot, hot in 1983 (but not as hot as 2021!). We decided to rent for a year so maybe the market would cool off.  It did not.  A number of people recommended the Eanes School district area (Westlake) because of the schools. We needed to live “close-in” since Jerry drove to ADC and multiple hospitals every day to see patients.  We bought our first Austin home in Beecave Woods in 1984 after the market had continued to go up.  Oh, well.

In 1986, after the birth of our second child, we evaluated the net money after day care for two children plus the stress and difficulty of two professionals with competing schedules which were sometimes incompatible with day care hours.  We decided it was best for our family that I stay home as a full-time mom.  Our third child was born in 1988.

Three young children with no extended family nearby and a largely missing husband (due to long hours) was challenging and exhausting.  I became involved in volunteer work in my church and developed friendships there that are very dear to me today.  Our children began school at Cedar Creek Elementary where I volunteered also.  I am proud to have my name on the plaque honoring the Booster Club presidents (1997). The feather in my cap that year was a visit to the school by then Governor George W. Bush and Mrs. Bush in support of the “Elect to Read” book fair and Grandparents Day.

In early 1998 when my children were 14, 11, and 9, I obtained my real estate license.  It was obvious that additional income would be very helpful if not essential as we prepared to pay for college for our children.  The tech field was drastically different from what it was in 1986:  IBM had just introduced its desktop computer, and Michael Dell had been selling computers for only a couple of years (but had likely moved on from his dorm room).  With three children, I was different from many young techies who wanted to go for a beer after work.  I wanted to be with my family.

I chose real estate because it involved homes, people and computers—all of which I loved.  As a child, I saved house plans that came in my parents’ mail, and I loved creating my own.  Also, my previous education contributed toward my license (B.A. Math/Biology from the University of Kansas and M.A. Computer Science from Duke University).  All I needed were the real estate classes.  Real estate was interesting, I could get to work quickly, and I had more control and flexibility with my schedule than an 8 to 5 job in an office.

I interviewed at four companies, all in Westlake.  All of them wanted me.  I was thrilled!  I did not realize that the only requirement for some real estate companies is that an agent “have a pulse”, as one noted speaker says.  I chose Coldwell Banker because I liked their management structure, their respectability, they were the largest real estate company in the world at the time, and they were more stringent in selecting agents.

Things went well, and by the next year it was obvious that our family needed more space than we had in our home on Wilderness Drive:  I was working largely from our dining room table, and my work space had to be moved any time we had guests for dinner.  Our children said that we could not move very far away at all, and in 1999 we moved to our current home in Treemont where we still live.  We love where we live.

In 2002, our oldest daughter graduated from high school. She was accepted to the Wharton School at UPenn (as well as many other places), and she wanted to go there.  The Ivy League was not in our tuition plan, but we of course wanted to support her decision.  She elevated my real estate career.

At that time, I had one assistant was working for me, and a second assistant was added.  Both were friends and clients.  I was awarded the distinguished Coldwell Banker President’s Circle award multiple times and was the first agent in the region to earn the Qualified Service Certified Platinum award.  I was working very hard and extremely long hours.

In 2007, while working on a relocation transaction, I expressed concern with some of the particulars of the Coldwell Banker relocation policy.  I felt it was a bigger “win” for Coldwell Banker than for the client.  In short, certain policies made me mad.  I looked at other companies, but there were either policy or personnel issues.  I obtained my broker’s license, and notified Coldwell Banker that I would be leaving in a few months. I left Coldwell Banker on good terms and started my own company, Betty Hood Real Estate, LLC, in early 2008.

All went well, but the financial crisis of 2008 took a toll on the real estate market. Buyers and sellers did not want to risk a move.  One of my assistants had moved to Houston earlier, and my other assistant decided to return to her original profession as a nurse.  My business was simplified, and I hired a part-time assistant on an as needed basis only.

Today, my business is virtually all referral based.  The people are nice, I have a history with many of

them, and they know that they can trust me with their real estate decisions.  I am honored by that. I serve “my people”.

In market analyses and recommendations, my focus has always been data-centric with an extensive review of market data including statistics while providing an insider’s perspective.  It promotes confidence so my clients can make well-informed and wise decisions.

My friends/clients are very dear to me, and I love to work with them in their real estate decisions.  I get to be a part of their life stories.   Contact me if you would like assistance with your real estate decisions as part of your life story.  What a joy it is to share!

Regards,

Betty Hood