Houston’s Adriana Banks Finds the Sweet Spot by Following the Data

Bringing deals and developments to life

A native of Houston, Banks grew up in a family of builders and entrepreneurs. With one grandfather who established several banks in Mexico, another who worked in construction in Laredo, and an uncle who was a builder, she already felt an affinity for real estate when she started out 15 years ago as a land licensing agent in the oil and gas industry. The prospect of combining her nuts-and-bolts knowledge of contracts and land rights with helping people make sound investments in property inspired her to become a residential agent.

“I turned my oil and gas clients into my real estate clients,” she recalls. “I'd already built trust with them and proven my work ethic.”

Banks joined John Daugherty Realtors in 2011 and began working with energy firms, medical centers, and companies in other sectors prevalent in Houston to relocate employees. After collaborating with builders on several new developments, she began to see the value of adding more resale properties to the mix, which, in turn, led to a number of high-rise projects—and the realization that it was time to build a team.

Having joined Douglas Elliman in early 2020, Banks assembled a group of real estate professionals the following year, each of whom brought expertise in different areas, including law and the title business.

“They're like family to me,” she says.

And just as she enjoys getting granular on market metrics with her husband, Mark, a wealth advisor at Morgan Stanley (“we’re cut from the same cloth,” she says), Banks relishes the deep dives into the data that she and her team do in weekly meetings and running conversations.

“We talk about everything by breaking it down into micro-categories—for example, looking at the current price per square foot for new construction, asking ourselves how and why we’ve seen that change, what we all think of that,” she says. “It's an open forum where everyone gets to express their opinions, and I love that.”

What Banks enjoys most of all, however, is turning those insights, marketing strategies, and other abstract elements of the business into real, tangible results for her clients.

“Making things come to life on a project—and watching people have that experience of seeing it all come to life—is truly a lot of fun,” she says.

Her focus on that customer magical experience has fueled a self-sustaining referral business, which “organically” led to working with numerous athletes and performers and becoming a member of Elliman’s Sports & Entertainment division.

“Whatever industry you're in,” she says, “those referrals are your biggest compliment.”

An athlete herself who boxes, swims, practices yoga, and loves to exercise al fresco in Houston’s beautiful parks, Banks also savors the city’s restaurant scene. She counts a number of restaurateurs as clients and names Brasserie 19, Carrabba’s, and El Tiempo Cantina among her favorites.

“El Tiempo actually has a memorial plaque for my dad,” she notes with evident pride—a loving tribute to a regular patron lost tragically to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Reflecting on her five years at Elliman, Banks happily credits the brokerage with providing both the capacity and the community to succeed.

“I had the support to start a team and the infrastructure to help the developers that I was working with,” she recalls. “Catherine Lee [Elliman’s President of New Development in Texas], who is just an amazing person and one of the smartest people I know, has given me so much support. Even going to all of the Elliman events, I’ve made so many connections that have become friendships with agents around the country.”

As for her outlook on real estate and the Houston market in the year ahead, Banks naturally consults the data—and finds reason to be optimistic.

“If you look at every year since the 1980s, the years after elections have been among the strongest for real estate,” she says. “That said, I don't think interest rates are going to drop to where we thought they were going to, but I think it's going to be enough movement for the market. Overall, I have high hopes that 2025 is going to be a great real year in real estate.”