I couldn't be happier with my experience working with David and the Cush Real Estate team for the sale of my Montclair home. From start to finish, David demonstrated exactly why he's so highly regarded. He is a true professional who maximized the sale of my home despite challenging market conditions. His market expertise and approach gave me confidence every step of the way. I was especially impressed by David's negotiation skills. He provided thoughtful guidance at every stage of the negotiation, ultimately helping us achieve the best possible outcome. Throughout the process, he was straightforward, honest, and completely reliable. The entire team was a pleasure to work with, and I have to give special recognition to Doreen. She is wonderful -- exceptionally proactive, organized, on top of every detail and kind. She seamlessly managed the design, staging, and all of the work needed to prepare my home for listing, ultimately leading to being on budget and on time! David is clearly a very busy agent, yet he somehow always made me feel supported. Whenever I needed guidance, answers, or action, he and his team were there. If you're looking for a real estate team that combines expertise, integrity, outstanding negotiation skills, exceptional service, and just wonderful people, I highly recommend David and the Cush Real Estate team. read more

I've visited many open houses in my neighborhood put on by Cush Real Estate over the years. The properties always looked beautiful and sold quickly. When it came to choosing an agency to sell our house I did not hesitate to go with Dave Higgins. Dave made suggestions and gave estimates at various levels of improvement. We decided to go with a full remodel using his design team and vendors. They handled everything from start to finish resulting in a beautiful, updated home that drew many people to the open house and resulted in multiple bids. It sold quickly at a great price. read more

Dave and his team were wonderful to work with. They are professional, responsive subject matter experts who took care of every detail in the sale of our house. I especially enjoyed having the full dedication of his design team guiding us through the prep work for the house. They worked quickly and efficiently to meet our target dates with no hold ups and answered all our questions and reservations. read more

If you're going to pay a sales commission, you might as well get a professional who's going to work hard and earn it. David and his team handled everything for me. I've used David before and have complete confidence in him. When I moved out, I gave them the keys to my home and they took every care of everything. David is a person of competence and integrity. read more

We had such a wonderful experience with Cush Real Estate. Not only David Higgins - who is wonderful - but the team with whom he surrounds himself. From designers to contractors to assistants to stagers, all of whom were incredibly responsive and very respectful of our input. The entire team made the sale of our house quick and seamless, and ultimately above our asking price. David and his team have our highest recommendation and we feel very lucky that we chose to work with him. read more

David and his team helped us sell our historic home. He is clearly an expert in the local real estate market! We really liked the technology solutions they used to let us e-sign documents. They handled coordinating inspections and subcontractors, and had a ready team of both with rapid turnaround and very fair pricing. Overall, the selling process was smoother and much quicker than we expected; we are thrilled with the sales price and the ease of the transaction and would 100% recommend Cush to anyone selling a home! read more

We're very grateful to friends for recommending David and Cush Real Estate. My transaction involved the sale of my mother's condo following her death. The Cush team handled all the details smoothly - including dealing with a very demanding HOA, which slowed and complicated the process. They were also very responsive - when I was initially overwhelmed by a barrage of emails, they produced a list of team members and vendors so that I'd know who I was dealing with. They are ultimate professionals: they know their job, they know their market and they are efficient, gracious, direct and lovely to deal with. read more

David and his team helped us sell our house in the time frame we talked about and his team ended up exceeding our expectations in terms of how well they assisted us to ready the house and were able to market it. We ended up getting a great price. We deferred to his team in terms of how to improve parts of our house to make it more appealing, staging, pricing strategy, and even dealing with vegetation and trees to improve the curb appeal. The end result was spectacular! The designers on David's team (Erika and Sarah) were fabulous to work with and were super dedicated to making everything perfect. I can't recommend the Cush team more highly. read more

See all

We decided it was time to sell our home of 34 years in Oakland, and when researching which realtors provided the best and most professional service, David Higgins' name, along with his team, kept coming up. Also, we queried a number of neighbors whom Higgins had represented, and all said they were extremely pleased with his service, his communications, and of course...the outcome. We even received two referrals from unrelated commercial realtors, that Higgins and his Cush Realty are the best in the area. We placed total trust in David and team, and followed every recommendation they had re: what improvements were needed to make the house optimally marketable. The 100-year old house underwent a total makeover (inside and out) and came out of the process unlike we ever expected...in a totally positive way! The team's insight and ideas were amazing, and giving them free rein over the facelift while not meddling (we think), were the best actions we could have possibly taken. I could go on-and-on gushing about all that we liked about the team's communications, service and professionalism, and I'm sure that as soon as I stop typing, other positive points will come to mind. Suffice it to say that we highly recommend using Cush Realty if you are entertain selling your Oakland, Piedmont, or East Bay Home. But only do it if you want to work with experts who know the market, who will work with you respectfully, and who will do all within their power and expertise to make it a wonderful experience for you. I wish you the best (Please note that I was not asked to write this recommendation I wrote it after it occurred to me that I had not written a review on Higgins' service, even though our home sold eight months ago. I simply believe in supporting businesses that provide exceptional service) read more

I was cynical about the whole house-selling process, but I was very pleased with the services provided by Mr. David Higgins and Ms. Sarah van Overbeek of Cush Real Estate. They had a very specific strategy to maximize the selling price and, so far as I could tell, every decision they made--including but not limited to a last minute decision to resod the back lawn--resulted in increased buyer interest and a higher than expected sale price. And they are both likable people, an important factor in a process as emotionally charged as selling a family home. read more

Dave Higgins and the entire team at Cush were a pleasure to work with from start to finish. They guided us through a series of challenging decisions regarding renovating and selling our home, they spent untold hours prepping the house for sale and made it more beautiful than ever, and they marketed the home with incredible aplomb and dedication. I would HIGHLY recommend working with Dave to sell your home. If we had to do it over again, we'd happily hire Cush again. 1 read more

We have nothing but RAVE reviews for Dave Higgins and his crew at Cush. Not only did our house sell for a whopping 65% over list in 11 days, but the process was seamless and needed very little effort on our part. Our project manager made sure our design upgrades maximized our budget and deftly targeted our home for a quick sale. We would give them 6 stars if it were possible. Chris T. read more

We started the process of listing our house before shelter in place and never anticipated the process would get too challenging in a neighborhood where homes sell like clockwork with multiple offers and way over asking. Of course that all changed in a hot minute! There are plenty of realtors in the area but there is only one Dave. We chose him not simply because he's the top agent but because of his personal attention to working with the clients and his accountability to do right by his clients. We created a brand new strategy to list and price a property in a time when open houses couldn't happen and Dave was able to move lighting fast to help us prepare our house to be ready to sell. Dave understands that timing matters and you have to stay nimble to be positioned for anything that comes up. While the playbook evolved it never felt like we were hoping and guessing. Dave leveraged all of his experience to help us get things done. And a few days later, without any headache Dave presented us a non-contingent offer that was too easy to say yes to. We've since recommended Dave to multiple families considering a sale and would use him again without question. He was always available and was incredibly well thought out in how he uniquely approaches each situation. It also felt great to work with Dave and not get lost in some massive support team. read more

Thank you so much for this gift Lauren!! You're truly a great realtor who took me from step A to Z and I am so grateful for all the hard work you put in on my behalf! All those disclosures that you sifted through in detail and review emails were the most helpful! And coming to see almost every house on my crazy list was exceptional. Thank you for helping me get this home!!! read more

We sold our home with Dave's help and couldn't be happier with the results. His team did an incredible job of preparing the house for sale - staging, minor renovations etc. and generated a huge amount of interest. Dave's pricing strategy was flawless and helped us land a price that far exceeded expectations. He and his team are easy to work with, incredibly knowledgeable and super responsive. I would recommend Dave and his team in a heartbeat. When it came time to buy our new place, I didn't even consider working with anyone else and was equally happy with the experience as a buyer. read more

Dave and his team at CUSH did an outstanding job for us. We interviewed several agents and his proposal was by far the most developed, with a draft plan for what they would do to make our home most attractive to prospective buyers. This included specific proposed changes and their costs, with several options to choose from. Once we got started the entire team provided a high level of service and Dave was very good at managing our expectations. We did a substantial amount of renovation and a complex staging but all went without a hitch -- at least, we didn't have to handle any hitches because Dave's team managed them. Our home sold for well over the asking price and the paperwork went smoothly. Overall it was a highly professional and satisfying experience. Thanks, Dave and the CUSH team! read more

David and his team have now worked with us for two home sales, and we are currently working with David to buy our next home. We were both selling and now buying in difficult market conditions, and his advice, knowledge of our neighborhood, and expertise continues to be exceptional. He continuously provides us with solid advice, even if it is not always what we want to hear, and guides us in a way that has led me to trust him 100%. If you want an expert team, Cush and David are definitely it! read more

David and his team helped us find our forever home, in the height of a pandemic and during a crazy real estate market. We couldn't be more pleased where we landed. The Cush team guide us expertly, with all of our complicated criteria, they had their ear to the ground, were super respondent to our needs, and always optimistic even when the going got tough. AND... after we closed on our new home they hustled to get our existing home on the market. The design team did complete magic in bringing the best aspects of our home to life. Our old home, looked beyond gorgeous and we easily sold it! Thanks Cush team! read more

I recently worked with Dave on the sale of my Emeryville condo (1bdrm/1bath) and hands-down it was the best decision I could have made. Home selling can be very stressful, especially when doing so while navigating a job relocation and move 1000+ miles away, which meant I was out-of-town for much of the selling process. From my initial meeting with Dave where he spent in excess of 1.5 hours discussing his background in real estate and current market conditions, his ideas on how to stage my property, and strategy for maximizing the sale price, I knew I was in good hands. Dave and his team at Cush Real Estate (including Erika) are incredibly professional, compassionate, and knowledgeable, and plus Dave is just a wonderful human being. I never felt like Dave was pushing me to make decisions that I wasn't comfortable with because he provided the pro's and con's at key decision points and let me make the decision. He was also incredibly responsive to texts/calls/emails to answer questions or provide updates. Also kudos to the team of contractors Dave's team recommended and used because they handled small repairs, painting, and prep work prior to the listing going live and also referred me to the staging company rep Hannan @ Pauline Pearsall, who were top notch. I had multiple offers within about a week after listing, which is a testament to the marketing materials, realtor network Dave has developed over many years, and staging of the residence for presenting the best possible listing. I closed within 10 days with an all-cash offer and I couldn't be happier. I recommend Dave without hesitation. read more

David and Amy were extremely helpful and accommodating in the purchasing and selling of my home in Crocker Highlands. Amy was available anytime to answer questions or let me into the property which was empty upon purchase. David handled everything for me as I was out of town during the entire transaction! They know Crocker Highlands! They know the market there and around the area! I recommend them one hundred percent in the buying and selling of your home! read more

We recently sold our home in Oakland, California after signing a contract with David Higgins of CUSH Real Estate. We bought a house out of state in the spring of 2022, which wasn't going to be completed until 2023. We had not planned on selling our Oakland home until the late fall of 2022. Because of the uncertainty in the real estate market David suggested that we put our house on the market in September, much earlier than anticipated. We moved out of state in mid-August and David and Erika Vexler, realtor and Director of CUSH design, took over like whirlwinds. Erika and her design team suggested some amazing changes to the laundry room to turn it into a usable office/play area and to update a small bathroom. This and the general sprucing up of the property including landscaping, floor refinishing, and paint colors were all included in the budget that Erika provided to support the no interest concierge loan that they were able to obtain for us. This loan would be paid from the proceeds of the sale of the house. Though we were not in the area, Erika and the CUSH staff sent us photos and kept in touch during the process. The contractors that David and Erika used to work on our home were very professional and did fabulous work. The updates to our house were done in 3 weeks and a beautiful 3-D Matterport video was posted on line along with wonderful photos. Our home listed on 9/16/2022 with an open house the next 2 days. One week later we signed a contract to sell and the closing was less than 2 weeks later. This was an unbelievable ending that could not have happened without David's marketing strategy and planning and the support and efforts by Erika and the fabulous CUSH crew. Thank you so much. read more

Dave and his team were incredibly professional and have fantastic market insight. Super happy with our experience.

We chose to hire Dave and Carla to help sell our Oakland penthouse after an unsuccessful attempt with another local realtor. Dave and Carla gave us great advice and helped us sell the property within several weeks (they even found and brought us the buyer!). After the sale they also helped us find and purchase our current house in Montclair. We found them both to be friendly (and child friendly), attentive to detail and knowledgeable. We have since referred them to other sellers and buyers as well. We wouldn't trust anyone else to help us sell or buy a house. read more

Total honesty. Total professionalism. Absolute personal attention. Incredibly nice people. How many real estate agents can fit that description? If you can find them, hire them; if you're looking, without a doubt choose Dave and Carla Higgins. As first-time buyers during the height of the bubble, we were very intimidated and worried about buying a house. Dave and Carla literally made it easy for us. Walked us through everything. Explained all options honestly and plainly. Were standing by our side during all stages of the process. They helped us not only buy our house, but weather the downturn that quickly followed. Thanks to Dave and Carla we got to live in the house we love! One of the great things about them, was even long after the sale, they made sure things were going well, that we were happy, and offered tons of help with everything from financing to remodeling. Four years later I can only offer my highest recommendation. I would send my mother, my son, anyone who was thinking of buying in the East Bay, to Dave and Carla. You can thank me later! Lee read more

Dave is the ONLY Realtor to choose if you're looking to buy or sell a home in the East Bay. He recently helped us buy our first home in Oakland, and seriously, it wouldn't have happened without his diligence. He made sure to support us at all point of the sale. He was constantly available throughout all the many challenges. He has such a good reputation in the industry, and everyone loves him, so it makes doing business with him a real pleasure. He's trustworthy and a fun person to go through, what can be an otherwise stressful experience. Now we're so happy in our beautiful home. We never thought this dream would come true. We feel really grateful to Dave for helping us make this happen. Dave also works with a fantastic mortgage lender named Sue Thomas who is famous for FHA loans. She also fought for us throughout the process and made this dream happen as well. FHA is a great option if you're looking to put a low down payment. His wife Carla is also amazing, and they partner well to make sure all your needs are met in a timely manner. Thanks For Reading and Good Luck! read more

David and his incredible team sold my home in Oakland. From start to finish, the experience was positive. He was wise in his advice, kind, and supportive. Best of all, we got top dollar for my home. I highly recommend David and Cush Real Estate to anyone buying or selling a home in the area! read more

Dave and his team helped us find our forever home! We were casually looking to find a larger house to accommodate our big family and Dave was patient during the process. We would only take that next step if it was the perfect home and he found it! He guided us during the emotional buying process and helped to make the sale of our old home a breeze! I recommended him to my parents who were relocating to the Bay Area and he helped them get an amazing home as well! He's extremely professional, knowledgeable & genuine and I would recommend him to anyone looking to buy or sell a home. read more

Dave and his team did an excellent job selling my parents condo in Oakland. They handled all the renovations, and were able to sell the condo within 2 weeks once it listed! I live out of state and they handled everything very smoothly and professionally, including setting up the notary to come to my home to complete all the necessary documents. I would definitely recommend Dave and his team again. Thank you! read more

Dave and his team did a tremendous job getting our condo ready to sell, including handling significant renovations, and selling it above the level we had talked about and were looking for. I recommend Dave and his team to anyone looking for the best results!! read more

In a period of Covid-19 induced uncertainty, Dave guided a smooth and successful sale of our much loved Crocker Highlands home. Dave drew on his years of experience (going back to the crises of 9/11 and 2008) to steady our nerves and help us make the right decisions. We found him supportive and compassionate to our concerns and never pushy. As there was no playbook for this particular moment in time, Dave reimagined the way we would present and market our house and made a 3-D video tour and ran virtual open houses. The marketing photos were beautiful and made us want to go back to living there. Dave's colleagues and team (painters, landscaper, stagers, etc.) were professional, responsive and effective. Prior to selling our home, as one of our neighborhood's most respected realtors, we always expected to use Dave as our agent and we are grateful we made that choice. read more

Hardest working agent I ever met! We started out by reaching out to a number of top rated agents in the Oakland Hills area. Go to Zillow.com, type in your city, click on agent finder. Dave Higgins was the one who consistently reached back out to us and understood that we wanted to get moving forward even before we decided on a listing agent. He offered us the contact information to various cleaning crews, painters, handymen, hauling services and landscapers so that we could start prepping the house even before we decided on a listing agent. We was always quick to reply to our barrage of emailed questions. In short it felt like he had time for us. After we chose Higgins (what I call him, sure he prefers Dave) he took over the role of prepping our house, acting more like a general contractor than a typical agent. This was great because we live in Southern California and the house was in Northern California. He organized the remaining tasks - painting exterior and interior, cleanup, landscaper, carpet replacement and staging. He also confirmed the work and helped come up with solutions as problems arose. E.g. The metal parts the painter painted needed to be primed with a special rust proof spray and then repainted a second time. To be perfectly honest we were not impressed with how he valued our house and the listing price he wanted to use. But he asked other people to get more opinions and also listened to what we were saying what we thought it was worth and why. Ultimately choosing the listing price is the owner's job and determining a sale price is the job of the free market. The agent's job is to expose the house to as large a market as possible and make sure the house shows as well as possible - which he did. The staging was great, the photos looked great - so the marketing was also great! We ended up with a bunch of offers and 2 standout ones. At the end we had to choose between all cash and $50,000 less or financed and $50,000 more. I asked which Higgins would do and he said he would take the safer all cash offer. I ignored his advice and took the $50,000 and the more risky financed offer. There was no push back by Higgins or salesman pressure, he just got to the business of getting it done. We got the whole deal done remotely, never even setting foot in Northern California. We got a top tier price and closed without incident or hiccup. The amount of work Higgins put into prepping the house and the role he played made it all work. In all honesty his assertiveness and hard work really surprised me. I usually do not think of agents as hard working people to be quite frank about it. Higgins is the exception to the rule. I have absolutely no reservations about using him or recommending him as the finest agent in the East Bay. read more

In this current, crazy-hot seller's real estate market, serious buyers need to work with a knowledgeable, professional realtor. For us, that person was Dave Higgins, who helped us find and secure our dream home. His knowledge of the character and demographics of Oakland neighborhoods helped us to target our home search. Dave's 15 years' worth of knowledge was invaluable when evaluating a home. Dave pointed out details, both positive and negative, that we would not have noticed. This saved us from wasting time and money, keeping us from making offers on homes that could have been problematic for us. Although Dave had numerous other clients during our home search, he was always quick to reply to various forms of communication. Being associated with the powerhouse Grubb Company, Dave is supported by a team of experienced real estate professionals. We do not anticipate a change of address any time soon, but should that occur, we would not hesitate to work with Dave Higgins again! read more

Estelle is the best, hands down. She sold my Father-in-law's home in the Oakland hills. He lost his wife a year or so earlier and had a hard time pulling the trigger and putting the home on the market. Estelle was incredibly patient, kind, and professional. She sold the home in record time for top dollar. Thank you, Estelle for all of your help and guidance! read more

I recently bought a house with Dave and the Cush Real Estate Team and I truly recommend them! I am not the type of person who normally writes reviews but I had a great experience with them in what is a very tough and competitive process and would recommend them to anyone. Let me tell you why. First, it was my first time buying a house. I didn't know much about the process and they took the time to educate me on what I needed to watch out for when buying a house in general and in the Oakland Hills area in particular. They spent a lot of time with me going to open houses and scheduling independent viewings at random times to accommodate my busy schedule. They also sent me listings and went to see houses for me while I was away to see if they were worth it for me to see. They read all the disclosures on each house I considered bidding on cover to cover (I could tell because they caught little details I had missed even though I had read the disclosures in detail) and advised me to do some things that I recognize in hindsight were in my best interest as a buyer but not necessarily in the best interest of a quick purchase for them (e.g. go in with an inspection contingency when there are some concerning issues in the disclosures). I really appreciated that they protected me from ending up with a problem house! In the end, we went through 4 bids together, and I almost didn't bid on the 4th house that I ended up buying (and absolutely LOVE) but Dave's team followed up on the things I was worried about to make sure we had all the details and found out that my concerns were unfounded. I can't thank them enough for this dedication, because I am now SO happy with the house I bought. I felt very well cared for the whole way through the process and would 100% use them if I sell or buy again. Thank you Dave and Cush Realty Team! read more

Dave and Carla represented me in selling my house in Berkeley. I first put my house on the market in summer 2008. I worked with the first agent I talked to, not realizing what a huge difference having the right agent can make in selling a house, particularly in a difficult market. The house languished for three months without an acceptable offer before I took it off the market and put it up as a rental. I decided to try again in Dec. 2009, even though the market was even worse and the house's value considerably lower by most standards. I live in Brazil now but read numerous reviews and contacted several agents before deciding to work with Dave and Carla. My main reason for feeling comfortable with Dave was that despite the awful market, he wasn't afraid to be optimistic about selling my house, and for a good price--he told me what he thought he could get an offer for. And then, within two weeks of the house going on the market--he got it! Despite the buyer being rather high-maintenance, Dave and Carla held the deal together even though at several points I highly doubted it would go through. Even though I remained out of the country throughout the transaction, the process was smooth and clear for me. I found Dave and Carla and their team of helpers to be honest, upbeat, responsive, and efficient. They did so much more to promote and sell my house than anything that happened the first time it was on the market. I really wish I'd gone with them then. read more

Hands down the best realtor we have worked with. Dave and his team really made the experience of selling a home less daunting. He is delightful, and very good with people. Our home went well over asking even with major repairs. We were pleasantly shocked! Highly highly recommended!! read more

Dave and Carla epitomize professionalism. They helped us buy the home we currently live in. From honestly getting to know their clients to the no pressure home showing to the aggressive negotiations they were with us every step of the way. They also have a huge amount of resources at their disposal for anything house related: good contractors, inspectors, electricians, plumbers etc etc etc. Highly recommended! read more

Like an earlier reviewer, we purchased a Northern California home in a short sale. As I joked many times to Dave (who also has a sense of humor), "look in the dictionary under 'Short Sale' and you'll see this definition: "A lengthy, painful process fraught with difficulty and no guaranteed outcome; See: Contradiction in terms." :) But Dave made it happen for us - even after we thought of throwing in the towel and giving up. He and his team really understood the process, helping us to not only hang in there, but even comprehend to a large degree what was actually going on. In the end, we got the property, and in no small measure, we have Dave to thank for that. Dave and Carla are dedicated and professional. Highly recommended. Capt Dan G. read more

Dave and Carla helped me sell my condo in Oakland. Wow- they were awesome! I almost went with another agent- friend of a friend. I thought she had a good marketing plan. And then I met with Dave who literally blew me away with his professionalism. The advice, the support, the services, the expertise- I could not have asked for more. They made the process smooth and easy by bringing in all the resources that I needed. Since then, I have recommended Dave and Carla to other friends who have had the same success I did. Recently I was considering buying some property in another Bay Area city. I called Dave and Carla because I trust them so much. And they were able to help me with listings and advice. They are the BEST! I recommend them without hesitation. read more

Cush Real Estate is one heck of a real estate team. Dave Higgins and his team handled the entire process from turning a beautiful house into a stunning one, excellent marketing (I saw ads for it all over the Bay Area), perfect timing of the market, and ultimately a fantastic sale price this past Spring. I then had the great fortune to work with Amy Keohane, one of the members of this fantastic team, who tirelessly guided me through the purchase of my next home. Amy was incredibly responsive, efficient, leveraged her and her team's great connections to find me a wonderful home. She is a true pleasure to work with. The east bay market can be overwhelming and scary, and I would choose Amy, Dave Higgins, and the Cush Real Estate team again and again. Thank you Cush!! read more