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!

Selling occupied rental property is challenging and you need an agent that knows how to work well…read morewith tenants. Krista had done OK with a prior sale of a vacant condo (although in retrospect she pushed me to spend on some costly and unnecessary upgrades and I had to remind her to pursue the offer we got) so I asked her to be an agent to sell an occupied duplex. She confused the tenants such that they thought they didn't have to do showings and estoppels and tried to extort me for this and it was difficult to clear this up. Worst of all she did not supervise the inspector well so he left the oven on for about eight hours scaring the tenants when they got home and creating a serious safety issue. She claimed she took a photo of the oven showing it was off before she left but the time stamp showed the photo was in the middle of the inspection about an hour before it was done. This created much difficulty with the tenants and I had to start over with another realtor delaying the sale by about a month. I suggest using a different realtor who is more focused on your sale.

Found Yuqi via Yelp. Alden, Lotus and Yuqi are fantastic team! They are efficient and get to the…read morepoint yet super friendly. Thank you again for selling our occupied duplex.

I was searching for a good real estate agent, and I gained a friend in the process. Yuqi is a…read morethoughtful, respectful, and diligent young man of faith. I have worked with seven other real estate agents in the Bay Area over the course of my life, and I consider Yuqi one of the best. If you are looking for a real estate agent in the Bay Area, then you owe yourself at least a call with him. Positive qualities: Responsive, Willing to investigate ordinances, Willing to travel 30+ miles, Coordinate and map multiple site visits, Post-sale follow-through Thanks, Yuqi.

Sheri was great to work with: she is knowledgeable, extremely responsive, and patient on top of all…read morethat. She worked hard to understand our needs and wants, and helped talk us through tradeoffs until we finally found a house we wanted to make an offer on. She worked closely with us over a weekend to quickly put together our successful offer. On a holiday weekend, she was able to find contractors to come over or do video calls to help us understand uncertainties with the house. This sort of thing is exactly why our friends recommended Sheri to us, and exactly why we'd wholeheartedly recommend her to anyone else.

We are so glad that Sheri was recommended to us. She is delightful to work with! She helped us sell…read moreour home, managed all the work that goes into getting that prepared, had an excellent marketing plan and we were super pleased with with timeframe and sale price. Sheri then helped us find our next house. She was patient and gently guided us in the right direction each time we needed a boost. Sheri knows the market so well and takes every piece of feedback about our checklist seriously. She knows practically everyone in the East Bay and we trust every recommendation that she has. My biggest takeaway about Sheri, other than being organized and diligent is that she made us feel like we were her only clients. She never rushed us and she gave us her full attention always. I recommend her to anyone!

TL;DR - Tracy is amazing and choosing to work with her will truly be one of the best decisions you…read morecan make during your home buying process. When we made the decision and felt ready to become homeowners, we felt overwhelmed by the amount of things we needed to do and figure out. After beginning to work with Tracy, it felt like everything just clicked into place. She referred a fantastic lender to us, told us straight when our heads were in the clouds (it felt like they were in the clouds a lot), had empathy and eased our apprehension when we were overthinking things, patience when we asked repeated questions, stayed up late for us, and it really felt like she knew what we wanted and what our limitations were when we felt clueless. Two months after making the decision, we closed on our home. I cannot thank Tracy enough for the time, commitment, and thoughtfulness she gave us and am sad that our time working together is over. If the time comes again, we'd for sure choose her again and rest easy knowing we'd be in capable hands.

God bless Tracy Palma!…read more It was my husband and my first home-buying experience. Suffice to say we had no idea what we were doing, especially in a market as competitive as the East Bay. She thoughtfully led us through the whole process (from introducing us to disclosures to final walkthrough!) with patience, grace, and insight like no other, and we ended up with our dream home! What I especially appreciated about Tracy was that it never felt like she was trying to "sell" us a house. She had us approach each home with an open mind but a critical lens. We would talk through the pros and cons of each space, and when we were ready to bid, worked with us to strategize our best offer. Tracy also took seriously my preference for older houses with charm! It was a delight to see what she chose for us to explore, she totally got our style. Besides her professionalism and experience, she is just a sunny human being. I don't know how she did it, but on days where we were seeing multiple houses, she would beat us to the next house every time! When we pulled up she's always be there waiting with her zippy Mini Cooper nearby. She is magic!!

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!

Anna helped us sell our home in Berkeley this spring. She is an exceptional professional--…read morethorough, detail-oriented, ethical and warm. We moved abroad just before putting the house on the market and Anna and her team handled all of the details related to preparing the home for sale. We always felt we were in good hands as she guided us through the process. I am very grateful for the high quality representation she offered and we were very happy with the outcome of the sale.

Anna helped us sell our home in Berkeley in Fall 25 and we cannot recommend her more. This was our…read morefirst time selling a home, and we had to do the entire transaction while abroad. We placed all of our trust in Anna, and it paid off. From the beginning it was clear that her top priority was getting us the best deal while making sure we felt supported. She never let us stress. She took care of every detail, and her team handled everything from touch ups to staging to closing with total professionalism. Anna also did an excellent job setting expectations around price. She gave a clear and honest assessment of the market and kept us updated as we approached our listing date. Once our home went live, she was a powerhouse. She drove visibility, brought in serious buyers, and guided us through final negotiations with multiple strong offers. We reached our dream price, and a new family found their dream home. Do not look any further. Anna is the one you want.

Do you want a team that understands you and is willing to work at your pace? Have I the realty…read moreservice for you! The most important part is they genuinely want you to understand the process of home ownership from top to bottom; Laura Mae Patton was so kind and patient walking us through our questions. At every moment she treated us with respect and I never felt like I was being talked down to (unlike some other agents we interviewed). Their list of references for all things related to the house are all A+ wonderful folks! Please if you're tired of playing the game and you need straight answers about how to become a homeowner.

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've been engaged in the real estate industry for more than 30 years, as a certified appraiser,…read morereal estate broker, and general contractor. Because of my real estate experience, I was entrusted to handle the sale of a house that has been in our family for over 90 years. Even with my real estate experience the mere thought of finding a Realtor and getting the house ready for sale stressed me out because it's located out of town and my time is limited because of work and family. I live in Los Angeles, the house is in Berkeley, and I typically have a 70 hour work week. When selling a house I try to find the top 5 local agents. I judge the agents based on the number of local sales and local listings. Holly Rose was one of the top 5 I interviewed. I generally have high expectations of people I work with because, I in return, give it my all and expect others to do the same. After my initial interview I was surprised by her in depth knowledge of construction and specifics of the neighborhood. The family house is unique because it's architecturally unique, hasn't been remodeled since it was built, is situated on a double lot, the vegetation was thoroughly overgrown and the house was packed room to room with personal belongings. Holly saw past the present condition and focused on the historic important of house and its potential. Holly went above and beyond any agent I've come across in my 30 years in the industry. Holly found and oversaw a fantastic and reasonable priced clean-up crew for the vegetation clean-up, removal of the personal belongings, and general cleaning of the interior and exterior of the house. She kept me informed at every stage of the crews progress. I found Holly refreshing because she wasn't afraid to present her ideas and guide me in the getting the house ready for sale, setting the listing price, and marketing of the house. A couple times she pushed her point and every time she proved right. I'm not writing this review for Holly, I'm writing this review for you. From someone in the real estate industry, Holly is unquestionably the best agent you will ever find.

Holly Rose helped two friends of mine sell their home in Albany and they recommend her highly. When…read moreI needed to sell my mother's house in Berkeley, the one who likes to micromanage just a bit (by which I mean a lot) advised me to learn from HER experience. "Hire Holly Rose and get out of her way," she said. "You will be so happy you did." I did, and I did, and I am. It's rare for me to have complete faith in someone, but I had that in Holly -- and what a delight that is. Throughout the whole process -- fixing up the house, staging, setting the price, timing, marketing materials, negotiations -- I knew that Holly would do the right things AND that she'd reel me back in whenever my inclination was to do something dumb. (And there are many decision points along the way where that would be all too easy.) She's smart, savvy, strategic, knows the market so well, has great people skills, and is a great communicator. I loved, too, that she delights in older homes and in collaborating on making those really glow. She also just knows homes, in general...how they're constructed, what often has gone wrong over the years, what it would take to fix problems, what will matter to prospective buyers. Holly is that rare agent who arrives with a flashlight and jumpsuit and actually slithers around in the crawlspace. She's kind of a goddess. Oh, and yes...we got a great price! That that is kind of an afterthought here maybe tells you everything you need to know. I'm just sorry I don't have other houses Holly can sell for me. That's how rewarding the whole experience was.

Jodi was responsive to set up the first meeting but then started to slow down after we did the…read morelisting agreement. She took a week just to skim through the inspection report and then gave hasty repair recommendations much of which I didn't end up needing and would have been a waste of money. It was peak home sale season but that was the same for other realtors who made more time for us. When I asked if she could respond faster she basically said she was busy (so then don't take me as a customer), I was a low priority for her and we could end our agreement so we did. This delayed an already difficult home sale process by a couple weeks and wasted my time. I suggest finding a different realtor who will make you a priority and save you time and money.

We recently worked with Jodi and the Kai Real Estate team to sell our Oakland condo, and the…read moreexperience was exceptional. Jodi brought an impressive depth of market knowledge, strategic pricing, and local expertise. She and the team managed the entire process flawlessly, and we secured an excellent outcome. They completely live up to their name - bringing kindness, authenticity, and absolute integrity to the table - and we highly recommend them as a top-tier brokerage in the East Bay.