As a Realtor with 27 years of experience at a world-renowned luxury brokerage, I have very high…read morestandards when it comes to real estate professionals. When my husband and his siblings needed to sell their parents' home after 58 years of family ownership, we knew we needed someone exceptional. Sarah Ridge exceeded every expectation. Not only is Sarah an expert in the Berkeley and El Cerrito market, but she also brought together an outstanding team that made the entire process seamless. From strategic pricing and marketing to thoughtful updates, staging, and preparation, every recommendation was spot-on and designed to maximize the home's appeal and value. What impressed me most was Sarah's ability to guide our family through what was an incredibly emotional transition. She was always available, communicated clearly, and patiently walked everyone through each step of the process. Her professionalism, compassion, and attention to detail gave us complete confidence from start to finish. Thanks to Sarah's market knowledge, strong negotiation skills, and excellent relationships with other agents, we received multiple offers and ultimately found the perfect buyer for this cherished family home. The entire experience could not have gone more smoothly. Sarah is constantly studying the market, touring new inventory, and maintaining strong relationships throughout the East Bay, giving her an unmatched pulse on the local real estate landscape. If you're buying or selling in Berkeley, El Cerrito, or the surrounding East Bay communities, I cannot recommend Sarah highly enough. You will be in exceptional hands. Simply put, I wouldn't choose anyone else for this area.

Sarah Ridge is an excellent realtor. She has deep knowledge about the North Berkeley neighborhood…read moreand what things to watch out for in Berkeley houses. She has a lot of contacts, so she can address almost anything that can come up in the home buying process. She is very smart. Go to her website and watch her videos to see if you think she would be a good match for you. That's what we did. The best thing I can say about Sarah is that she was always looking out for our best interests. We went to some open houses on our own and were interested in making offers. Sarah pointed out to us some red flags that we had either missed or ignored. She said she would be willing to write up the offers if that's what we wanted, but she advised against it. She said this is the same advice she would have given to her daughter or a close friend if they were interested in these properties. Fortunately, we listened to her, passed on those properties, and ended up in a great house. Buying a home in the Berkeley market is always going to be stressful. My advice is to find someone like Sarah who will be reducing that stress, not adding to it.

This is a long overdue review for Rosie! My wife actually knew about Krista and Rosie from 10+…read moreyears ago when her brother was in the market for a home. Roughly 7 years ago, we linked up with Rosie to help us purchase our first home, and she was so helpful along the way. As we slowly started to outgrow our first home, we worked with Rosie again for a new home last year, and she was so incredibly helpful and encouraging every step of the way. Throughout both times, she was always super responsive, made time to meet with us, and answered all of our questions throughout the home-buying process. We never felt any pressure from her to act on any of the houses we visited, and she always had a calm and relaxed demeanor that put us at ease. Rosie's recommendations & suggestions for insurance providers, lenders, or handy people were also great, and definitely helped us out in a pinch. Rosie made the homebuying process a relatively simple one, and we really couldn't have it without her help. She was really flexible with our schedule, super prompt when we had any last minute questions, and feels like a long-time friend at this point. Rosie provided us invaluable + realistic information around the comps for all the homes we visited, which ultimately helped us land an awesome new home. If you're looking to buy a home, we can't recommend Rosie enough. Thank you so much, Rosie!

Rosie was absolutely fantastic to work with. She's knowledgable about so many different…read moreneighborhoods, and was able to help us as first time home buyers through every step of our process. She was super helpful with all our (many) questions, and was always able to give us great advice and help guide us when we needed it (which was a lot!). If you need an East Bay realtor, she's the one!

Maria is not only a wonderful real estate agent, she TRULY cares about her clients! She is patient,…read moreyet a master negotiator. There is no doubt that Maria is always looking out for her clients' best interests. I highly, highly recommend Maria whether you are buying or selling real estate!

We switch to open house realty from another property management and the experience has been…read moreabsolutely amazing. She is on top of her game and very friendly. Could not recommend better.

We can't recommend Ellie highly enough. My wife and I relocated to the East Bay for work on a very…read moretight timeline, and she made the process feel manageable from day one. Ellie educated us on the local market and how to compete effectively in it. Her background in construction meant she raised questions we never would have thought to ask, giving us real confidence in our decisions. She was patient with every question and a true advocate during negotiations, helping us land our home in a competitive market. What sets Ellie apart is that her support didn't end at closing. She's continued to connect us with trusted professionals as we've settled in. Thanks to Ellie, we found our forever home.

Working with Ellie Ridge was key to our unexpectedly quick success buying a home in Berkeley's…read morefamously competitive (and famously opaque) market. Recent transplants from the East Coast, we knew little about the mechanical and structural systems and real estate practices peculiar to the East Bay. Over the course of a few short weeks, Ellie taught us how to evaluate the condition of older homes, spotting key features of sellers' disclosures and crab-walking crawl spaces with us to scrutinize the physical facts. She arranged pre-inspections by expert engineers, providing us helpful clarity and perspective and signaling to sellers that we had done our homework before making our offer. Ellie helped us evaluate the actual market value of homes (quite untethered from the list prices!) and positioned us to make a strong offer. By astutely attending to our reactions, she quickly and accurately discerned our needs and wants in a home and a neighborhood, mindful of market conditions and our budget. Eventually, it was Ellie who brought us to the home we ultimately purchased, correctly anticipating our positive reaction (despite knowing our focus had been elsewhere). Ellie then set to work, suggesting a successful offer strategy aided by financing and insurance professionals with whom she maintains excellent relationships. Ellie, an East Bay native raised by a realtor and a construction contractor, "sees through" houses, recognizing untapped potential and hidden flaws. She also reads people with commendable skill, understanding a seller's expectations and sizing up the competition. Barely half our age, Ellie earned our entire trust to navigate and negotiate this high-stakes process. Her remarkable combination of expertise, intuition, and drive won us over. Every seller's agent lit up when we identified her as our agent, and each (correctly) assured us that we were in excellent hands. Ellie takes her clients' interest as a sacred trust, and (with a smile) will deploy an Olympian's competitiveness to secure your aims. (Perhaps she will help you first clarify those aims, as she did for us.) Ellie won't pressure you. She will make the whole process of buying a house fun. And she won't rest until she achieves your goal. We cannot recommend her highly enough. You won't go wrong with Ellie as your agent!

Working with Madeline Gibson and the Ruth Krishnan team was an exceptional experience. Having…read moretrusted Ruth with a past property sale in the City, I already knew their team standards were high, but Madeline still managed to exceed them. My search started with her colleague, Yesinia Beatriz, who supported me early on and connected me with Madeline who was a great fit for my needs! I wanted a property in a highly competitive, expensive area during a time of low inventory. Madeline never made my goals feel unrealistic. She helped me purchase my dream home in a newly renovated TIC building on the border of Russian Hill and Nob Hill, smoothly navigating the complex TIC financing requirements. Madeline is highly knowledgeable, efficient, and responsive. She educated me using recent comparable sales data and reviewed every document thoroughly. In a multi-bid situation, her strategy secured a home that not only met my must-haves but also my would-love-to-haves (hello private garage, view, and fireplace), on my very first offer, with zero back-and-forth counters. She operates with total integrity and made me feel genuinely cared for throughout the process. I highly and absolutely recommend Madeline and the Ruth Krishnan team. I can't thank them enough!

Lauren and team were FANTASTIC! My husband and I have lived in SF for 10 years and we were finally…read moreready to look at buying our first home as the rental market went crazy. We had no clue what we were doing walking into this and Lauren helped guide the way from teaching us about the market in general, advising us and referring us to good financing options, and more. The very first thing we did was an exercise to help make sure we had realistic expectations - we looked at a variety of neighborhoods with our price point in mind and looked at previously sold units to understand what we could and could not afford. It was very helpful to then narrow our search to start looking. Lauren walked us through all the options and made sure we wouldn't waste time with things that didn't make sense. When we found homes we liked, Lauren immediately jumped into action, pulling down inspections, sharing intel on the selling agent, and more. She would walk us through the full inspection reports and help flag things we should dig further into. As a family with a kid, she was also extremely thoughtful in guiding us based on nuances of kids in the city. And when it came time to negotiating the home we got, she worked her magic! Up against two cash offers, Lauren helped us navigate a competitive offer in other ways to beat them out. Unreal! Our friends were blown away at how quickly we were able to get a place compared to what they've seen in this crazy market. Our full time from kickoff with Lauren to close was probably only about 2 months total - wayyyy faster than we thought any of this would go down in the crazy SF market. Her team also helped throughout the close process to make sure we were set on moving logistics and getting set for all the new things involved in home ownership. We are so grateful to Lauren and her team who went above and beyond to make sure we were getting the home of our dreams and that we were set up for success. Would highly recommend her and the entire Krishnan team!

Working with Megan to buy my first condo was incredibly smooth. She made the entire process quick…read moreand straightforward, which took a lot of the pressure off as a first-time buyer. We only had to put in one offer, and she even negotiated a seller credit. Megan is efficient, professional, and great at what she does. If you want a smooth, stress-free home buying experience, I highly recommend her.

Rachel Barrios stuck by us for three years as we worked toward making the dream of homeownership a…read morereality. When we were finally approved and ready to start looking, she went above and beyond to make sure we had every opportunity to find the right home. She rearranged her schedule, made herself available at odd hours, and was always ready to jump in whenever we needed her. Rachel made what could have been an incredibly stressful process feel as smooth as possible, even with all the inevitable bumps along the way. She was kind, thoughtful, patient, and supportive every step of the way. She even helped us work through escrow issues while she was on vacation. Talk about going above and beyond! We are incredibly grateful to Rachel for everything she did to help our family achieve this dream. I would absolutely recommend her to anyone looking to buy or sell a home. And if we ever move again, there is no question that Rachel will be our first call!

Mel Burnette at The Monday Team helped us purchase our first home recently, and we had such a great…read moreexperience! They spent time getting a thorough understanding of our requirements and helping us land on the right balance of location and price quickly. They were extremely patient with us as we sorted out exactly what we were looking for, which shifted around a few times as we visited open houses and got a better feel for different neighborhoods and how important different criteria were. We found a place we loved, and successfully beat other offers to win the contract. Would highly recommend Mel and The Monday Team especially if you're looking in the Oakland / Alameda area or nearby in the east bay, where they are the local experts.

I'm super late here, but Kellie Parker and team were so wonderful with supporting me and all the…read morequestions I had when I finally pulled the trigger and became a home owner! From the first meeting and walkthrough, the initial inspections and close, Kellie specifically was an amazing partner, and I felt sincerely lucky to have her as part of the process. It's not the easiest of processes, but they made it as smooth as possible, and I'm so freaking happy in my little slice of The Bay

I can't recommend Christine highly enough. She's friendly, accessible, flexible, and always…read moreprofessional. She tailored her advice to my level of experience and my (ever evolving) needs, accommodated my super busy schedule, and helped me find and close on my new home in a very short time. Throughout it all, she was a reassuring voice of reason and encouragement. Especially if this is your first home purchase--but even if it's your twentieth--Christine will be a great asset and a pleasure to work with!

Sometimes they're just aren't enough stars!…read more I don't write reviews very often, but Christine Holt absolutely earned this one. Our home has finally closed, and I can honestly say I don't think we would have made it to the finish line without her. This wasn't a simple transaction. Between unexpected challenges and everything else life threw at us, there were plenty of opportunities for things to fall apart. Christine never let that happen. She stayed on top of every detail, kept everyone accountable, communicated constantly, and always made sure we knew what was happening. When problems came up, she didn't make excuses--she found solutions. That's a rare quality. During one of the most difficult times my family has ever been through, Christine showed patience, compassion, and determination that went far beyond what I expected from a Realtor. She genuinely cared about getting us across the finish line, and it showed in everything she did. If you're looking for someone who will work hard, tell you the truth, fight for your best interests, and never quit when things get complicated, Christine Holt is the Realtor you want in your corner. Christine, thank you for everything you did for our family. We will never forget it, and I recommend you without hesitation

We had an excellent experience working with the Leah Tounger Realty Group on the sale of our…read moreOakland home. From start to finish, the entire team was professional, knowledgeable, responsive, and genuinely committed to making the process as smooth as possible. Selling a home can be stressful, especially when there are many moving pieces, but Leah and her team guided us through every step. They provided thoughtful advice on preparing the house for market, kept us informed throughout the process, and were always available when we had questions. We particularly appreciated their attention to detail, strong communication, and ability to navigate the inevitable challenges that come with selling a home. The team's knowledge of the Oakland market and their strategic approach to the sale gave us a great deal of confidence. Most importantly, we felt that they truly cared about achieving the best possible outcome for us. We would highly recommend Leah Tounger Realty Group to anyone looking to buy or sell a home. They were a pleasure to work with, and we are very grateful for everything they did to help us successfully sell our Oakland home.

I can't recommend Leah and her team highly enough. My situation was far from a straightforward real…read moreestate transaction and required patience, strategy, and a steady hand. Leah was incredibly responsive, thoughtful, and grounded, and she stuck with us through the entire process. I'm so grateful for her support and guidance and would absolutely work with her again.

I cannot recommend Vikrant, Mona and team enough. It is not for everyone but for the right buyer,…read morewho knows exactly what they are looking for and are willing to do the research, they are an amazing option. I am a first time buyer with clear vision of what I wanted and the capital. Did not want a real estate agent to find the property for me, educate me or tour the home. With the price range of property I was looking at, 2.5% of the price seemed steep and I was looking for an option. I connected with Vikrant about a month ago and now I bought my home. Their expertise was invaluable for me and walking me through step by step of the transaction process. Mona's price research was on point. I bid on the top end of the range given competitive nature of the property and just beat the next bidder. I had a LOT of newbie questions that their team had patiently answered and still are helping me through. They even set up the escrow in such a way that I did not even have to apply for rebate but the amount I owed was reduced (only applicable for cash purchase). I ended up saving a TON on agent fees and in the end, ended up being a very fast and efficient engagement with them. Highly recommend but please be aware of their limitations and make sure it is right for you.

This was our first time purchasing a home without using a traditional real estate agent, and we…read morecouldn't have been more pleased with the experience. Vikrant, Hira, and their whole team did everything they promised (and more). They were incredibly responsive, knowledgeable, thoughtful, and strategic throughout the entire process. I never felt like I was sacrificing service or expertise by going with a flat-fee model. In fact, I'd say they outperformed the traditional agents I've worked with in the past, at a fraction of the cost. The entire experience exceeded my expectations, and I would strongly recommend them to anyone buying a home.