My husband and I are proud three-time Martha Becker clients: she helped us buy our first home in Oakland during the feeding frenzy of the post-pandemic housing boom, sell that home when we needed to move for work and life reasons, and purchase our forever home in El Cerrito. For both of the homes we bought with Martha as our agent, our very first offers were accepted. For the home Martha sold, we received multiple offers that greatly exceed our expectations. Martha seems to know everyone, and is widely respected by her peers, meaning that our offers were more attractive simply because other agents want to work with her. Martha is truly one of a kind. She's a magician who will make your budget and needs work for you; a no-nonsense advisor who tells you everything you need to know and holds your hand throughout the wild East Bay homebuying process; an expert landscape architect and general contractor who won't think twice about crawling around the crawlspace of a potential home or planting greenery herself to beautify a home for sale; and, most of all, a great, kind and funny person whom you'll love to work with. We've recommended Martha to many of our first-time homebuyer friends in the Bay Area. She is the best! read more

This is way overdue- 6years overdue. Without Martha I don't think we would have been able to buy a house. The market was crazy but she worked hard to make it happen and we love our house. The part I loved most about her is that she knows the market and was realistic. She wouldn't let us put bids in for houses that would go over what we could afford. This meant a lot less stress because as a first time buyer it took a lot to commit to a house and then to be heartbroken when we didn't get it would have been too much for me, especially if it happened over and over again. She made the whole process easy for us and was really on our side. We will always use Martha and recommend her to everyone. She's terrific. read more

I purchased my first house with Martha and here are some of the things I appreciate Martha as my agent: 1. She is a good listener; I remember meeting up with her, and the first thing she asked me was, "why do you want to buy a house?" such an easy question but yet few had really thought about what it entails, but it was like a therapy session where the more I thought about the reason the more motivations and determination I have through the process. 2. She is analytical; She helped me figure out my priorities and the sacrifices needed to be made with my limited budget. 3. She is up to date with the listing and resources and presented me with information without making me feel overwhelmed 4. she always advocates for her clients; She was actively helping me negotiating with the seller so I was able to lessen the financially worries. With her help, I was able to find a good place for my needs at a good location I wanted and a price I could afford. I really appreciate Martha through this journey. read more

We have known Martha for over a decade. She came highly recommended from a friend when we were looking for a realtor to purchase our first home. Not only did Martha help us navigate the complex purchase of our first home, she has been a trusted advisor for all things real estate over the years. Most recently, she helped us sell our beloved home that we purchased, with her help, all those years ago. Selling our first home was a delicate transaction and knowing that Martha was representing us alleviated so much stress. Her experience and knowledge of the area put us in an advantageous position and we were thrilled with the outcome. The time, research, and attention to detail that Martha gave to us and our home is above and beyond and we are so grateful. read more

Martha came highly recommended to my wife and I from two different friends who bought houses in this rough East Bay housing market- It was very easy to see why they had nothing but good things to say about working with Martha. Of the handful of realtors we spoke to about starting to look for a home, Martha was the ONLY realtor who didn't treat us like paupers for daring to try and purchase a home out here without two FAANG salaries or Old Money. Martha did the work to find a number of very lovely homes in our price range and provided endless guidance regarding what would make for both a comfortable home to live in as well a solid investment. We were rather picky clients and Martha spent a number of months scouring the listings and meeting us at open houses or touring lock-boxed homes with us until we found some properties we were ready to make offers on. Being first time home-buyers we were completely out of our depth in what offer-making and the follow through entails, but Martha prepared us very well for all of that and was there for us at every step of the process. If we find ourselves wanting to move into a larger home in the future as our family grows, we wouldn't trust anyone besides Martha to sell our home- and she will definitely be our agent for any other purchases we make here in the Bay Area. read more

Martha is in outstanding realtor who has put many of our friends happily into their homes. She really will do the dirty work to dig into issues in prospective homes and is great at listening to the (sometimes conflicting) needs of couples to find a home that makes everyone happy. She's also super down to earth, low pressure, and easy to work with. Highly recommended. read more

I used Martha to buy my first house and then sell it 3 years later when we decided to move out of state. She's been in the area for so long and brings a wealth of experience, enthusiasm, and winning strategy. I had such an amazing experience working with her as both a first time buyer and seller and would like to wholeheartedly recommend her services! First time buyer: We bought our first house in 2020 when the interest rates were quite low and the market was very competitive. Martha helped us secure the very first house we offered on! She is determined to give her clients the perfect house and when she sees a match she tries everything in her power to make it happen. When offers were due, it was her personal follow-up calls that ended up getting us the house. There was a weird paperwork error in how the docu-sign was rendering that made it look like we hadn't checked a critical box (when we had). Her proactive follow-up in the sensitive hours after offers were due resulted in us getting the house instead of the sellers passing up on our offer due to a misunderstanding. First time House Seller: After the experience of buying our house, we knew we wanted to use Martha without any hesitation to sell it. Looking back I am truly in awe of how much personalized care and attention Martha gave to us throughout the whole selling process. It was clear early on that we needed to make updates to our house in order to get the amount of money that we wanted - it was only a 1 bath and had a very out of date kitchen. Martha helped us figure out how to best spend our money to make the biggest impact renovations. We have young kids and were so grateful for the ways that Martha personally attended to so many items on the long to-do list. She was in the weeds with us - from designing (and installing!) landscaping and so many of the tiny details on the inside of the house, such as picking paint colors and light fixtures - really everything. Her wisdom about how to list and market the house was spot on. During its 2 weekends on the market we were her top priority, personally following up with every interested party. We sold our house during an uncertain time when interest rates were rapidly rising and her efforts resulted in us getting an incredibly strong offer. Thank you Martha!!! read more

Martha is amazing - she represented my wife and I as we purchased our first home. She is incredibly knowledgeable and took the time to understand our wants and needs in the home buying process. She was able to point us to neighborhoods that we didn't know about and steered us away from homes that looks great on paper but ultimately would not be a good fit for us. It was clear she wanted what was best for us. As a result, we were able to get a fantastic deal on our dream home in Alameda. I very much doubt we would have been able to get our house if it wasn't for her. I would absolutely recommend her to anyone looking to buy a home in the Bay Area. read more

A close friend referred us to Martha, and we couldn't have been more pleased to work with her on our year long search in the East Bay - she is the best! We had a very specific type of house in mind but weren't sure exactly where we wanted to be in the East Bay and ended up looking all over. Martha always steered us toward houses that matched our wants and needs, patiently gave us feedback about houses we could not afford, helped us think creatively about houses we could afford, and never gave up on us until we found the one. Martha was invaluable in pointing out things about a property that we may not have immediately picked up on, like water damage, settling concrete, or future repairs. She is a longtime East Bay resident with a wealth of knowledge about neighborhoods, schools and the East Bay housing market, and has lots of great restaurant recommendations too. When we finally found our house Martha helped us think through the pros and cons of the house in this competitive market, so that we felt confident in our decision. After we submitted the offer on our house, we know a big reason our offer was accepted is Martha's advocacy for us - really can't stress that enough. This is our second home purchase, inevitably a somewhat stressful experience, but we felt like we were in good hands with Martha--a knowledgeable, trustworthy, and fun realtor to work with. read more

When you work with Martha, you don't just get a real estate agent, you get a network of resources. As first-timers we found her recommendations and insights to be incredibly valuable. Martha poked her head into every crawl space, pointing out what caused damage and what wasn't worth worrying about. She has a great knack for pricing homes and repairs. Martha was a great communicator throughout the entire process and set us up for success every step of the way. read more

We've been working with Martha for 7 years. We've bought 2 properties with her and sold one. She's spent hours and hours over the course of years showing us property with nothing to show for it, financially speaking. She always seemed genuinely happy to do it, always insisting, "I love looking at property!" She's funny, straightforward, down to earth, trustworthy, knowledgeable and informative. She's opinionated, in a wonderful way! She brings a wealth of experience to this business and she won't hesitate to share that knowledge. Her projections about ultimate home values, or how much additional work a given home might need were always right on. It's like having a real estate and construction consultant rolled up in one. In short, she's a consummate professional and just a really good person to work with. read more

Martha was recommended to us from a friend who insisted she would be an exceptional partner in the home buying process and she couldn't have been more right. We were first time home buyers and had an idea of what we were looking for (a light fixer-upper), but looking at homes with Martha helped us sharpen our idea even further and find the perfect house for us. Martha is extremely knowledgeable not only about Bay Area real estate, but also has a wealth of knowledge on home construction, residential architecture, and landscaping. She helped us see the potential of the places we were looking at and gave us a realistic understanding of the scope of work the projects would require. Any work we wanted to do to the house, she's had people to recommend, and so far all of them have been excellent. She's a great resource for home buyers of all experience levels, to both find the ideal space for now and envision how to add value to the home for the future. read more

I found out about Martha through Berkeley Parents Network and Yelp. My husband and I interviewed her and two other agents, and her down-to-earth personality and generosity (she told us about a tax credit we didn't know about in her first email to us) really won us over. Most of what I would say about Martha - how she really listens and respects her clients, her dedication, her sense of humor - have already been said by previous reviewers, and I agree with everything they said. What I have to add: she found us our house on our first day of looking with her! Then she helped us figure out the offer we could afford and how best to present it, and removed all obstacles along the way, making a transaction process I was viewing apprehensively as smooth as possible. I highly recommend Martha Becker! read more

We have been living in our house in Oakland for a little over a year now. Thank goodness Martha found it for us. We wouldn't have looked in this neighborhood, but once Martha showed us around we were convinced. To me, that is the most important thing a real estate agent can do-- show you what you didn't know you wanted. Other agents we met showed us the same houses I had found for myself on Zillow, but Martha knew to look beyond the obvious. But she is a bit rough around the edges. She's busy and experienced, so she can come across as pushy. But I'm glad we stayed with her because I don't think we'd be in this house if it weren't for her expertise. read more

Martha was my agent when we bought our house 4 years ago and I highly recommend her to anyone buying a house. She knows her stuff and can really make you feel comfortable with the scary process of buying a first house. She listens to your needs, dreams and limits and won't try to talk you into anything you don't want to buy. In fact she talked me OUT of a house I thought I loved but that was out of my price range. She helped us find the perfect house-- it is even more than we were dreaming of and at the right price. After we moved in, she was still around to help with recommendations of roofers, paint colors, etc. and has never steered me wrong. She is an absolutely fabulous person and realtor-- don't buy a house with anyone else!! read more

Your agent should be your advocate in the home-buying process, & Martha absolutely is. She looks out for every little thing that you might not have. Plus, she listens & pays attention to what you want in a new home. I've worked with other agents in other cities & had both good & meh experiences, but Martha tops them all with her attention to detail & her warm, friendly, real personality. She works hard for you & she's an all-around fabulous person! read more

I just worked with Martha to buy my first house and can't say enough good things about her. Martha is that rare realtor (and person) who has the right blend of being super smart, knows the market, is a great listener, intuitive about what people want, and a great business woman. Martha is also great about educating first-time home buyers -- she will teach you about the market and give you "homework" to help get you up to speed quickly. Martha has the negotiation skills and experience to help you get the home you want, at a price you can afford. I love my house -- it's got everything I wanted and then some, and is in exactly the area I wanted to live in. read more

We were first time home buyers. Martha made the experience feel comfortable for us. It could have been a very scary experience. It still was, but with Martha we were able to stay the course and we found ourselves in our new home. It never felt difficult. And now that we've done it, I'm still amazed we got it done, and I often wonder: How did she do that? We don't hesitate to recommend Martha when we have the chance. read more

Martha is a terrific real estate agent. She is very knowledgeable about the East Bay market and about houses in general. She also listens carefully to her clients and is fun to work with. I recently made a winning bid on a property in Berkeley, but when the inspector I hired (on Martha's recommendation) uncovered a number of issues with the property that I wasn't comfortable with, I decided to withdraw my offer. So unlike many of the other reviewers here, I have not yet found my dream house. But Martha was supportive and never pressured me to make a decision I wasn't comfortable with. I would highly recommend her to anyone looking for a house in the East Bay. read more

We cannot thank Martha enough for helping us find our first home. She stayed optimistic and realistic in a really competitive market. She is very reliable, straightforward, and genuine. We felt like we were working as a team during the entire home buying process. She worked hard to explore each house we visited and told us a few times when we walked into a house "this house has problems" then proceeded to explain the ins and outs of the house, so we knew what we would be getting ourselves into. That honesty and candidness put us at ease, this is a quality not always employed in real estate and we loved that about Martha. Before working with Martha, we were not very competitive compared to other buyers. However, thanks to Martha's knowledge and experience, we found a home we love that we will stay in for a very long time! read more

I was just looking at some comps, and it moved me to post an update that we are *still* satisfied customers. I recommend Martha to anyone I hear is looking to buy. read more

Where to begin...Martha is the BEST. We met with a different realtor initially and were somewhat put off by how skeptical she was around finding something in this market. A friend referred us to Martha and she restored our hope-- three months later, we have a cute bungalow in North Oakland! As first-time home buyers without a huge down payment, we had a lot to learn and she helped us think about how to be competitive in this market without taking on insane risk. In terms of communication, she responded to phone calls, texts, and emails immediately. She does the same when communicating with listing agents. Her follow through and tenacity go beyond what you'd expect -- we really felt like we were in great hands. When our offer was accepted, Martha made sure escrow went through seamlessly- it was totally painless because of her. Her reputation in the community is excellent- many realtors said to us at open houses how much they love working with her. She has a great eye for potential -- her knowledge of architecture and landscaping make going to open houses with her super fun. She also knows a ton about repairs and construction! And beyond her amazing-ness when it comes to her job, she's just a lovely person. She's super down to earth but very professional. She brings a great sense of humor to the work and never hesitated to give us rec's for restaurants, bars, and stuff to check out in the east bay. She even loaned us her painting supplies when we moved in. We honestly couldn't have done it without Martha! read more

Martha recently helped my husband and me buy our first home in the East Bay and we couldn't have felt happier or more fortunate. I discovered Martha through several glowing reviews on the Berkeley Parent's Network, and knew right away when we met that we were in good hands. Martha was very understanding of our Ferrari wish list and Chevy budget, and never once made us feel like we were unrealistic or over-reaching (and even seemed to adopt our vision for the perfect "hot tub corner" and "tree-studded views"). She always came to the table with new ideas and an exceptional attitude throughout both of the homes for which we made offers. We appreciated Martha's viewpoint on every home we visited... the good, the bad and the stinky... and consider her an invaluable resource. I highly recommend giving her a call for yourself if you're in the market for a new home! We certainly love ours and have Martha to thank! read more

As a first time home buyer, I was ignorant of much of the home buying process. Knowing how competitive the market is right now, and how small of a down payment I had, I was a little scared. Martha held my hand throughout, and steered me in the right direction. It wasn't an easy process either. Dealing with both the seller and selling agent was very challenging. But Martha remained calm and patient, when many other agents probably would have lost interest. She's a great communicator, and a great listener. When the time comes, I will be using her services again, and I would definitely recommend Martha to anyone looking for a top notch realtor! read more

Martha is simply a wonderful realtor. She is extremely knowledgable and insightful about the East Bay market and homes in general. Martha is friendly, involved, and generous with her time and knowledge. She is also the most trustworthy realtor we have encountered. We feel so fortunate in having found her and received her help with such an important transaction. Thank you Martha. read more

I highly recommend Martha Becker to anyone who is planning on buying or selling a home. She is a seasoned realtor, with a keen understanding of the history of the East Bay market and is extremely knowledgable about both up-and-coming neighborhoods, as well as high-end property. Martha is trustworthy, savvy, sensitive, and a good listener. She also possesses a wonderful sense of humor (something I appreciate when dealing with the stresses of buying or selling one's home). I wouldn't hesitate to work with Martha again. She's wonderful. read more

If you want a top quality realtor who knows the Bay area extremely well, listens to her clients and will work to get you the best deal Martha is your Go-To Realtor. She is tenacious, has an incredible creative ability to see how things can come together and make it work! Her attention to detail will ensure there are no snafus through the purchasing or selling process. read more

Martha Becker realtor extraordinaire! I've known Martha for several years and knew she was a great agent. When she called me one day to tell me about a listing around the corner from a house I was renting it was like perfect timing. As it turns out my landlord was selling my house and wanted me out in 60 days. When I told her this she said lets get you your own home. I really didn't think I could pull it off, but she put me in contact with the right people for financing and then went to work, and in mean work! Now I should say that I can be a pretty picky person to the point of being a pain the you know what and how she put up with me I'll never know. Martha started sending me listings to look at and I'm like no I don't like the tree in the front on this one. Kitchen is to small on that one. Really that bathroom ugh! She never gave up though and never complained about my whining about this or that, and then, perfection. My Kitchen, my deck, my giant tub, my big backyard...MY HOUSE! Now came the bidding and paper work which for me was easy but I'm sure a ton of work for Martha. The bidding was a little rough but she stepped up and went to bat contacting the sellers agent and letting him know that I was motivated and ready to go! And just like that 25 days later I'm a homeowner! If you want someone who will be in your corner with a ton of patience and even more commitment to get you the house you want, Martha is your person! read more

Martha was an invaluable resource as we purchased our first home in Alameda (we also looked in Berkeley/Albany). She is incredibly knowledgeable about neighborhoods, homes, and the purchase process. She got us a great price on a really great house, and even more importantly, talked us down off the ledge after we fell in love with an underpriced-to-create-a-bidding-war house (while she would have helped us go after it if we'd really wanted it, her insights into pricing, value, and home buying psychology helped us realize that it wasn't a scenario we wanted to enter into). She's been incredibly useful throughout the purchase process, doing much of the work of scheduling inspections and bids (and she has connections to some very nice and professional experts for this kind of work). Most importantly, she has a great sense of humor and we really enjoyed spending time with her throughout our home search. read more

Martha is simply amazing. She has helped me buy 2 different houses, one about 10 years ago in Alameda, and another about a month ago in Berkeley. Both times she was full of information, went out of her way to be available, and most importantly, answered my 5 million questions clearly. Despite having now bought 2 homes, I still feel like a complete dunce about most aspects of the process. Martha answered every question and really helped me think through both the practical and existential aspects of house buying. She's a strong advocate, and great at advising you on what you need to do to put your best foot forward. She's also super practical and down to earth, so you really feel like your eyes are wide open as to what you're getting yourself into. I really appreciate the fact that she has continued to be not just available but proactive in helping me with all the things that need doing post-sale/move in. She's got all the resources in the world -- this guy can help patch your roof, talk to this guy about your electrical, etc. And she checks in on me to make sure I'm doing what needs doing. Finally, when you buy a house, you're going to be hanging out with your real estate agent a decent amount. Martha is warm, friendly, funny, and all around someone I enjoyed spending time with. I can't recommend her highly enough! read more

I have nothing but glowing praise for Martha Becker. I am a first-time home buyer; I was jittery about going into this; and I am sure I was a neurotic, confused mess at times, careening back and forth between pretty incompatible versions of what I wanted. But Martha is very, very good at her job and made it all work with grace, skill, and good humor. She knows houses and East Bay neighborhoods inside-out. She's tremendously good natured, super smart, and flexible and generous with her time. She educated me about this process (not to mention foundations, wiring, and chimneys) with clarity and no end of patience, and she was a strong advocate and negotiator on my behalf. She also has excellent contacts with local electricians, contractors, etc which is a life-saver when you're making the transition into actually being a home-owner. I looked for over a year in a price range that was a bit, let's say, challenging and Martha always just kind of exuded a cheerful confidence in the possibilities of it all. I have just closed on a great house in North Oakland, and I couldn't be happier with the house, the price, and the whole process. read more