A Life by Design
​
I simply cannot recall a time when I was not fascinated by houses, architecture, design, and gardens. As a young boy, I would beg to go through old abandoned houses, and later, as a student at the Hill School, I would take our one free afternoon each week and pour through the latest Architectural Digest and Architectural Record.
​
Starting as an agent, I moved to Dallas directly after graduating from Washington & Lee University in Virginia. Although a graduate of history, I’d taken every art and architecture class offered at the university, many taught by my professor and beloved mentor, Dr. Pamela H. Simpson.
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
It was during one of these classes, choosing the topic for a paper on American Architecture, when I began research on the small village of Brownsburg, Virginia. This would later prove to be one of many cornerstones that would ultimately draw me back to the beautiful Shenandoah Valley, its architecture, and its history.
My parents were very generous, offering both a short period of financial support, and their patience, helping me to get a start in a career that did not offer a salary. I can remember calling my father to tell him about my first sale, and he said ‘does that mean next time, you won’t be calling collect?’ I think my parents were as happy as I was for that closing!
In retrospect, the difference and advantage that I had when first starting out was that I had both a vision, and the marketing ability, to create a brand from that very first sale.
​
​
​
Although new to both the city and my career, I immediately began specializing in historic and luxury real estate properties. This specialization paid dividends with a record-setting price with my third sale, the Ray Hubbard Estate in Lakewood. At 24 years old, the sale of this iconic estate proved pivotal to my career, with both agents and clients quickly beginning to take this young transplant from Virginia seriously, and it was not a moment too soon.
I have often been blessed with just the right person at just the right time in my life. This was certainly the case with my first manager at Merrill Lynch Realty, who went on to be President of Rodeo Realty in Beverly Hills. This would lead to a fortuitous meeting with Beverley Hills luxury real estate power broker, Joyce Rey. Years later, I would call Joyce to let her know how instrumental she’d been at an important time in my budding career. It was a fun conversation for both of us!
​
A few years later, I joined Ellen Terry Realtors, an affiliate of Sotheby’s International Realty. Later, I went on to become the top-producing agent at the office, earning not only recognition as a top-selling agent in Dallas, but also the top sales agent for the entire southwest. I was 32 years old.
The Team Concept Emerges
​​
In 1994, I joined the affiliate for Christie's International Real Estate, and began forming my team. I wish I could take more creative credit for the team concept, developed while I with my new firm, but in truth it was a defensive strategy. Even with two assistants, I simply could no longer handle the volume of business being generated. Ironically, these were among the worst years for Dallas Real Estate, but some of my most productive as an agent. Between 1987 and 2000 – which years included a real estate crash, the savings and loan collapse, and oil, stock, & tech market crashes – I went on to sell many of the most high-profile estates in the city.
​
These heady years were a lot of fun, working the most discerning clients and agents, and selling many of the most iconic and important architectural properties in the city, including houses designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, Phillip Johnson, and a chateau in the south of France. In 1997, I was featured in the Wall Street Journal for selling the most million-dollar properties of any agent in Texas.
​
​
Building a Brand
​​
In 2003, Dave Perry-Miller & Associates opened our own office with The Prudential California Realty, owned by brilliant real estate icons Ed Krafchow and Dave Cobo. Ed's strategic thinking and helpful mentoring, in particular, paid huge dividends because of the connections it helped me make to so many high-profile California buyers relocating to Dallas. We sold over $100 million in that first year.
​​
It was in 2006, after being recognized as the 27th highest producing agent in the country, with sales over $150 million, a piece of advice I received years earlier came to mind: “when you own your own company, every day, you’re either going in to business, or out of business. But if you’re staying the same, you’re really going out of business, and just don’t know it.” I knew it was time to join forces with a larger local brand, and the firm merged with the largest privately-owned firm in Texas, Ebby Halliday Realtors. The firm’s founder and namesake, Ebby Halliday, was considered the First Lady of Dallas real estate from the 1940’s forward. My decision to join forces could not have been more sound.
​
From that point on, I was tasked with building my own brand under the much larger banner of Ebby Halliday companies. Nine years later, the decision to merge the brands was an unqualified success, with the Dave Perry-Miller Real Estate division sales of over $2 billion in 2016. I remained a stockholder, and the Ebby Halliday brands were sold to Berkshire Hathaway Home Services a few years later. The combined companies have now sold over $9 billion of Dallas real estate in 2022 alone, under the leadership of Chris Kelly.
​​
The Next Chapter
​
In 2013, I had taken the leap in buying the historic Waverley Hill Estate in Staunton, Virginia. It was a decision that would celebrate my love of so many aspects of architecture, design, and gardens that I had facilitated for my clients, but now was able to create and enjoy for myself. I'm currently living an active retirement between Virginia and Tucson, Arizona.