Walter Bering

The foundation of Walter Bering’s real estate career is rooted firmly in Houston’s history. In the 1840’s, two Bering brothers emigrated to Texas from Germany. After arriving in Galveston, they boarded a sloop and sailed up the bayou to Houston from where they intended to take an oxcart west to Llano County.

“The story goes,” laughs Walter, “that either the wagon broke or the ox did not understand German, so the family settled in Houston.” Whatever the reason, it was a fortuitous beginning. Six generations later, Walter has emerged as a commanding presence in the Houston luxury real estate market.

Eyeing prime real estate is a Bering family trait. After establishing in Houston, the Berings paid 50 cents an acre for a large tract of prairie along Buffalo Bayou which they cultivated as their family farm. Today, that tract is bordered by Westheimer Road, Sage Road, the Bering ditch, and Soldiers Creek (just south of Interstate Highway 10). Over 100-plus years, successive generations of Berings developed the property to create many of the neighborhoods in close-in Memorial and several sections of Tanglewood, areas that have appreciated from 50 cents an acre to multi-million-dollar parcels and luxury homes.

At the pinnacle of a solid career spanning 45 years, Walter is a star member of the Martha Turner Sotheby’s International Realty Circle of Excellence. Honored as the company’s #1 producer on ten occasions - 2007, 2011, 2013, 2017, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024– he is firmly ensconced in the MTSIR Hall of Fame. In addition, the Houston Business Journal tips its hat to Walter year after year for his top-tier volume of closed sales and participation in record-breaking home sale transactions.

Walter began his career at age 14 mowing lawns for Bering Realty Corporation, the brokerage founded by his grandfather and father. “I learned my first telephone skills when the office telephones rolled over to our house after hours,” he says. By age 16, Walter needed gas money and was hired as BRC’s “sanitation engineer” (janitor). After graduation from Tulane University in 1979, Walter officially joined the family firm as a Realtor, quickly becoming a top sales agent as well as the office manager, relocation director, and, eventually, the designated broker. That German work ethic has not skipped a generation.

Walter is a favorite choice of sellers and buyers in River Oaks, Tanglewood, West University, Southampton, and the Memorial Villages, dynamic neighborhoods with a growing number of new and recently-constructed homes as well as significant historic structures. Historic home sales require specialized presentation and handling; Walter expertly guides clients through the process and is particularly adept in sales involving a City of Houston Landmark or Protected Landmark designation.

For those interested in country properties, Walter’s portfolio includes multi-million dollar sales and purchases of upscale ranches in the hills of Central Texas surrounding Round Top, Brenham, and Chappell Hill.

A powerful influencer in Houston residential real estate, Walter offers clients utmost discretion, sophistication, incomparable experience, and unparalleled access to Houston’s luxury home and estate market.