Rob,
Thanks for the post. What is important is not only having the right agent, but seeking someone experienced with new home construction that will work with you throughout the build process. Simply being there to get your contract negotiated and showing up at closing to collect the builder's commission is not my idea of earning the fees.
Merv

We actually bought a new home in Berryville, which is being built by Brookfield Homes and I have to say the completed houses we have seen have been absolutely beautiful. We have noticed a few design flaws such as moldings that stop halfway because of a change in the direction of the ceiling and other little things, but I think those are fairly typical of all builders. I actually spoke with the Clarke County Building Inspectors office at one point and one of the inspectors commented that he was very impressed as well with Brookfield Homes. That being said though we had the unfortunate issue of someone coming in and burning the house down to the ground after it was nearly to drywall on Memorial Day weekend. The police believe it was arson but no one was ever caught. With all that said one thing we did make a huge mistake on was not getting a realtor right off the bat to represent us in buying our new home. Having someone to be the mediator so to speak between us and the builder would have caused a lot less stress and we would really not have been losing anything by having the help. If you are gonna buy a house the message to you would be GET A REALTOR!