My husband and I have known Tom for over ten years, so when we finally decided to get into the real estate market, there was no question who we wanted to work with (even though we know a ton of realtors). Tom's knowledge of the Austin area market is second to none, and he is passionate about continuing his education in an effort to give the best service to his clients. I want to be very clear: if you are looking for a professional who can explain all of the ins and outs of the process and also one who is a calming presence through the near-constant anxieties of making the largest purchase of your life, then Tom is the team captain that you want. We had SO. MANY. QUESTIONS. and not only did Tom respond to every single one, but he also did it almost immediately. All this while balancing an unbelievably active family life. With Tom's help, we went from offer to close in a little over three weeks. it was almost wizardry. He works with the best people in the industry (we had an excellent experience with the mortgage lender that he recommended) and he is just a delight. Also, as a native Austinite, I truly appreciate how much Tom and his family are a part of the community. He is involved in all of the things that I love in Austin: food, wine, music, film, art, education, and more. If you are new to Austin and need to understand the lay of the land, Tom can be your guide. I truly cannot recommend him highly enough. read more

Tom Thornton of Realty Austin is the perfect blend of personable professionalism. He knows the area within and outside of Austin, has an eye for detail and quality, and listened to what we were looking for in a home. Tom incorporated the things that mattered to us in real time; he adjusted our search as we learned the market better without taking anything away from the quality of homes he showed us. He knows the Texas realty process for quick turnaround and connections. We experienced some issues with our lender; Tom was able to help us work through these issues and work with the seller agent for minimal disruption and a smooth close. He and the Realty Austin team were with us every step of the way, guiding us in what needed to happen and helping us keep peace of mind during the entire process. The smoothest home search and purchase we've had. We plan to use him for sale when the time comes, would buy with him in the area again without hesitation, and will recommend him and Realty Austin to anyone in the market for a new home. read more

Tom provided spectacular realtor services for my family when we relocated to Austin, TX. He is the consummate professional who is knowledgeable, diligent, patient and trustworthy. He was a tremendous advocate and resource during our home search. Tom always had our bests interest at heart and provided outstanding advice and guidance. We had an extended transition period from selling our home in the Northeast to relocating to Austin. Tom worked with us over a period of six months to familiarize us with the right neighborhoods and homes that were the right fit for our family. We looked at close to twenty homes in a wide range of neighborhoods including Northwest Hills, Tarrytown, Zilker, Hyde Park, Highland Park, Allendale, Rosedale and Circle C. We were after a home in a great neighborhood with good schools and ample space. Not always easy to find in the competitive Austin real estate market. After an exhaustive search (did we mention Tom was patient?), we settled on a beautiful home in Northwest Hills that fit our family, lifestyle and budget perfectly. The home is great, more than we had hoped for, the neighborhood is terrific, we love the schools and to boot we have sensational hill country views! Buying a home in Austin can be a rollercoaster experience. The market moves swiftly, there can be competition and there are a huge number of variables to sort through. Tom made the experience of buying a home as seamless and steady as possible. He was also very kind and patient with our two young and boisterous children that accompanied us on our extended house hunt. We are very thankful that a friend of ours referred us to Tom. We had never met him prior to our house search and are very grateful that we made the connection. You would be hard pressed to find a better realtor and advocate than Tom. He really is he best in the game. read more

We have been waffling on selling our home for the past three years and Tom has been very long suffering taking us from home to home and doing comps on our existing house. We also have a rental property in Massachusetts and Tom was able to match us with a realtor back East that we also can't say enough good things about. We are once again in the moving train and going to call him soon to start our hunt. I've no doubt he will help us with practical advice and professionalism despite the fact we've tired our own selves out talking about moving so many times. :) With so many realtors in ATX it's important to be able to work with someone you trust, you can't go wrong with Tom and the Realty Austin team! read more

Working with Tom was an absolute pleasure! This was my first time selling a home and he walked me through everything concisely and knowledgeably. The sale actually took a little longer than both of us anticipated due to a few quirks with the property, but Tom was able respond and adjust our strategy resulting in a successful sale. I would highly recommend Tom to anyone looking to sell their home in Austin. read more

Tom sold my home fast and efficiently. He went above and beyond to assist with staging and helped this first time seller understand every step of the process. His knowledge of Austin's tricky market really came through when it came to pricing and marketing. read more

Tom is an excellent realtor and very professional. I worked with Tom a few years back when I bought my condo and most recently when I sold it. He is very knowledgeable of the local real estate market he serves and does his homework. What stood out for me was his professional demeanor and quick response time, whether he communicated via phone call, text, or email, he made sure I was informed along every step of both the buying and selling process. I was a first-time buyer and seller and he coached me along every step of the process and set realistic expectations, so there weren't any unforeseen surprises. To top everything off, I received an offer on my condo within one week of listing, so he knows what he is doing! Thanks again Tom, it truly was a pleasure working with you! read more

We've known Tom and his family for over ten years, and had the pleasure of doing business with him as well. Tom helped us sell and buy homes in Austin, and we recommend him to everyone we know. Tom made the process easy and stress-free, always checking in with us to make sure we had what we needed - before, during, and after the sales and purchases. I'll never use another agent in Austin! read more

My house hunt experience was made so much easier by Tom. He is very professional and knows his stuff, and I definitely needed a realtor who could guide me through the various steps as he did. Three thumbs up. read more

Me and my family have used Tom three times. Purchasing a condominium in Austin twice and selling one once. I could not be more complimentary of Tom and his work with helping us through the buying and selling process. His knowledge of the Austin market and what is available was second to none. I am a first time home buyer on the second condo (the first was with my family) and Tom's help has been extremely invaluable and I don't think I could have done this without his help. He helped us through every step of the process and had insightful tips at each stage of the way. He was able to break down the contract for me and when I went to buy with the seller I had little or no questions because he had broken down the complicated language in what was not a standard contract. On top of all of this he was flexible and easy to work with. He is extremely personable and I feel is someone I can trust. As long as he is in the Austin market I will definitely utilize his skills in the future and recommend him to my friends and family. read more

We loved working with Tom Thornton to buy our first home! His calm demeanor, guidance from years of experience, and quick responses to alllll of our questions made him the guide we were looking for through this nerve racking process. He quickly executed and followed up on homes of interest, while being thorough and thoughtful about next steps. He did a fantastic job of providing us with options to help inform our decisions and making us feel completely cared for. His attention to detail, professionalism, dedicated customer service, and knowledge of the Austin market make him a wonderful partner in this huge decision and we're so glad we worked with him! read more

Friendly, helpful, and trustworthy, Tom was a great agent. His market guidance (backed up with trend data) helped us price our home with confidence and get a ton of great offers really quickly. And Realty Austin's services like their listings search, photography package and staging consultation were invaluable to helping us sell our house VERY quickly. I recommend Tom to all my friends. read more

I would not recommend Tom as a broker. I found him to be very negligent and careless. My husband and I were not kept up to date on important matters and we were constantly having to contact him to ask him what was happening next. I have bought and sold several homes, worked with several brokers, and he was by far the WORST! Here are just some of his failings: He failed to tell us that our Buyer was conducting a final walk through at a certain time and date. This left us in a bad situation. He proceeded to deny that we were not informed of this and said he was going to send me the e-mail he wrote. I had the e-mail and it mentioned NOTHING about this. Needless to say, there was zero follow up on his part. He kept the check we received from the Buyer until after escrow closed, after our escrow agent asked him about it. He made careless errors on the description of our home, omitting major features. He failed to notify us that we needed a green inspection done, forcing us to coordinate this while we were overseas in Europe. This was not an easy task. He said he was going to split the cost of a stager with us. He gave us less than half of the cost and if we disputed it, it would have moved back our close date. He failed to inform us not to pay our home owner's dues. They were added to the final escrow, so we paid them twice. When I tried to discuss with him the things I was unhappy about, he just dismissed me and accused me of trying to cause trouble. He was clearly NOT open to feedback. I found him very egotistical and somewhat incompetent. There are much better brokers out there. At one time he might have been hungry and on-top of things, but those days are long gone. The only reason he gets 2 stars is because my home did close. read more

Tom is quite simply one of the best in the realty business. He is very process oriented and leaves nothing to chance. It was because of his process, knowledge, and his team that my home sold in less than 4 hours! Four years earlier I leveraged Tom's insight to Austin neighborhoods to find the perfect home for me -- an Austin newbie. His understanding of the Austin market when compared to my list of "must haves" meant we did not waste time viewing properties that were not a fit. I highly recommend Tom to those looking to buy or sell. read more

When you are ready to buy a house, let Tom Thornton be your agent. Tom worked with us for literally years (sorry Tom!?!). We knew that we were going to buy a house in Austin, but our personal situation slowed the process. Tom kept in touch without hounding us. We were in and out of contact with him for months at a time, but when we requested any info he way always very helpful. Then when the stars aligned, we moved quick on buying a house. Tom took us to see houses the first day that they went on the market so that we would have first crack at seeing them. When we did find our dream house, we wanted a quick closing (I think it was three weeks). During the process, we decided to move the closing up another week. Tom made sure that everything was in order to accomplish this. I would work with Tom again but unfortunately he sold us our "forever" house. :) read more

Tom came highly recommended by good friends of ours. He helped us find a home in southwest Austin, and we plan to work with him again when we're ready to sell our current home. When we first met with Tom, we had outgrown our current space in east Austin and needed to find a home that worked better for our growing family. We also wanted to move down to southwest Austin, an area that we were much less familiar with. Tom was wonderful in guiding us towards neighborhoods that would meet our needs, and was so knowledgeable about the real estate market in different parts of town. He really listened to what we were looking for in a home, narrowed in quickly on the style and location we wanted, never pressured us to go beyond our budget, and he was able to find us just the right property. Once we found the right place, Tom was able to guide us through the purchase process so that we avoided a bidding war and were able to get under contract quickly. Tom was also very patient with our two young children who came with us to look at houses, and treated them as an important part of the house hunt rather than an annoyance. Tom was always easy to reach by email, text, and phone. We also liked the online database that we had access to through Realty Austin so that we could preview properties before we went to see them in person, saving us lots of time and running around. We will happily recommend Tom to our friends. read more

Our experience with Tom could not have been any better. He is extremely good at what he does, he's very professional and responsive, he knows his stuff backwards and forwards, and he's very easy to work with. read more

Tom is a pro through and through. He helped us navigate the Austin market and was always prompt and thorough in his responses. I would highly recommend Tom and plan on using him again in the future for any of my real estate needs. read more

I was referred to Tom through a friend, and he is extraordinarily professional, capable, and knowledgeable about Austin real estate. He's also very friendly and super approachable! I believe he specializes in south and perhaps west? Austin, but handles properties anywhere in the city. I engaged with Tom twice -- once to look for a home on the east side, which I called off because we agreed that the opportunities did not match what I was looking for at the time, and later to help me with an unusual real estate transaction when selling my home. Through both processes, he was extraordinarily available, with an experience and knowledge of the market that I could trust. His opinion and experience helped _immensely_, and he was an indispensable resource to have on your side when negotiating and closing real estate deals. He also has a great passion for local cuisine and cocktails, and has great referrals for related services you might need! read more

Any poor review for Tom Thornton as a Realtor MUST BE A COMPETITOR. He is grand as a buyer or sellers agent. Informed about Austin, the real estate market and a wealth of information even after the sale that benefits his clients. Has network connections for stagers, photographers, landscaping, energy efficient upgrades, contractors...personable, knows his stuff and a HECK YEAH guy. read more