I had not bought a property in more than 20 years and then suddenly I needed a condo stat! Meryl not only met my need for speed, she educated me about current market dynamics and helped me come up with a smart strategy designed to keep maintenance needs/costs low and resale value high. She is a great listener and strategist, has a ton of energy and is a lot of fun to work with. I observed that she also has great relationships with realtors all over the city. It is obvious that her peers want to work with her, which is plus for her clients. I would definitely work with her again. read more

Working with Meryl was an absolute pleasure! As first time home buyers, she answered all of our questions (including those we hadn't thought to ask) and walked us through the process from day one. She was on top of all the details and made the whole experience seamless. Throughout the whole process she gave excellent, frank advice and wasn't afraid to point out both positive and negative attributes of various properties that we hadn't thought of. Overall, Meryl made this a wonderful experience start to finish and we cannot recommend her highly enough! read more

Anyone who is looking for a house right now in San Francisco knows how crazy and stressful the market is but Meryl definitely took the edge off the whole experience with her superior skills as a long time real-estate agent. She takes the time to really find out what is important to you in a house and then gently reminds you what you said you don't want when you get a little too eager with a particular listing that is not well suited for you. Meryl is the reason we found our perfect house and also the reason the first offer we put on a house was accepted. She seamlessly guided us through the offer process and gave us enough information that we could make good informed decisions through to the end, which ended up with us getting the house we really wanted! I could not be happier and Meryl was there with us to the end answering any questions we had and helping us with the finishing details. You won't be disappointed working with Meryl Bennan! read more

Meryl is the best. I cannot recommend her more highly. We first started looked at houses casually back in 2017. We were new to the process and figuring out what exactly we wanted, and Meryl was very patient and helpful in sharing her experience and perspective. Even when we concluded that the timing wasn't right at that point and decided to pause our search several months later, Meryl was extremely supportive and understanding. I never felt like she pressured us in any direction; she met us exactly where we were. After keeping in touch over the years, we recently decided that the timing was right and launched back into the house search process. We were more on the particular side when it came to our preferences, but Meryl again was nothing but supportive, and in fact very proactively pointing out both pros and cons alike. When we finally found the house of our dreams, Meryl helped us to have our first offer accepted on very good negotiation terms that we are extremely satisfied with. This is thanks to her strong data-driven approach, her experience, and her encouraging and healthy perspective when it comes to negotiation. The fact that we've been in touch for over five years and that she truly met us where we were to help us ultimately find the house of our dreams when we were ready -- points to what an amazing agent she is. Thanks, Meryl! Also, her housing analysis newsletter is excellent -- even though we've officially bought our house and completed that journey, I still look forward to receiving and reading it regularly. read more

We were referred to Meryl through mutual friends. Coming from the South Bay, we wanted someone that knows the local market. We made the right decision. Not only did Meryl understand the market, she provided a wealth of local contacts that greatly assisted us in financing and improving our first SF residence. read more

My wife & I sold our home in September of 2022, during an uncertain time for sellers in SF. We had also moved away before selling. Meryl did an exceptional job managing the entire process end-to-end. We got a great price, exactly what we wanted. Everything was seamless; she managed our expectations effectively and provided great counsel throughout. We're lucky to call her a friend, and she did a terrific job as a business partner. read more

We had the most surreal San Francisco real estate experience working with Meryl and probably one she will tell if you work with her. We ended up buying a "unicorn house" that Meryl encouraged us to look at even though it had been on the market for a while and initially seemed overpriced. We ended up getting the house for well below asking - something that never happens in San Francisco! We also got the first house we put an offer in on. As we pack our belongings and move into our first home, I still can't believe we got the perfect house for us and CAME IN UNDER BUDGET. Meryl flawlessly negotiated on our behalf, fielded our worried phone calls and truly went above and beyond during the entire buying process. We can't recommend her enough. read more

Meryl and Suhl Chin teamed up to sell our home this summer and the experience was extremely smooth. Everything happened so fast, but we never felt overwhelmed or lost. Her communication is solid. We were kept in the loop at every milestone, were alerted of potential hiccups, and her attention to detail is top-tier. The home sold for a price above our expectations - her strategies and thoughts were always laid out clearly for us and her instincts proved to be spot-on. I highly recommend Meryl Bennan and cannot say enough about how seamless everything went from early on through the final sale, and the wrap up. Shout out to Suhl Chin too! read more

We can't recommend Meryl enough. After spending months searching for a home in the Bay Area with zero luck, we got connected to Meryl through a mutual friend. After a few attempts, Meryl got creative and uncovered a few listings that she thought we should consider but we hadn't seen before. She encouraged us to look at a place that had been on the market for a while that had somehow flown under our radar. It had all of the must-haves we needed, plus a few added benefits that we weren't sure we could get within our budget. At the end of the day, she worked her magic and we were even able to get it for under asking! We wouldn't have found this place without Meryl. Not only that, she was friendly, funny and very communicative throughout the whole process. She truly goes above and beyond for her clients--before, during, and after. We highly recommend Meryl! read more

I have bought and sold real estate in the California Bay Area multiple times and have never experienced working with anyone as professional, upbeat, thoughtful, encouraging and incredibly knowledgeable as Meryl Bennan. She knows San Francisco better than anyone. Meryl strikes the perfect balance of giving you space to make your own decisions and do so at your own pace; while also gently guiding you toward what you are truly seeking. She is exceptionally gifted and a wonderful human being. I would recommend her to anyone without hesitation. read more

When my partner and I were ready to move forward with our deeply held and longtime vision of being in homeowners in SF, the city we've lived and worked in for nearly two decades, we knew it would be that would take insane luck, divine intervention, magical fairy dust or some wild combination of them all. Our resources were slight, by SF standards, but our belief and trust that it could somehow manifest, was strong. Finding Meryl felt like a nod from the universe that we were on the path toward this reality. Meryl was absolutely committed to doing everything in her power to support this dream and had the skill set, passion and energy level to match that commitment. She always communicated clearly, honestly and promptly - both with us and, clearly from what we could see, with listing agents and sellers of houses we were considering. We consistently felt like we were her only clients (when in fact I know, so many others are lucky enough to have her as her agent, all of whom probably felt the same way). She was (and is) a perfect blend of kind, fierce, compassionate, strong, smart and savvy and knowing she was our advocate in this process made everything a million times easier. Being at the very bottom price point of what even list prices were in SF, getting our home required unconventional exploration and thinking way outside of the box. She was totally game and remarkably adept at this -- and ended up finding us a home off market from an expired listing that was EXACTLY what we wanted and at a price we could manage. The entire transaction was laced with synchronicities and wild coincidences, but also some challenging nuances that Meryl handled with grace and genius. We are now over the moon with joy as we prepare to move into our new SF home!! And, as a bonus on top, she is donating a percentage of her profits to the non-profit of our choice. Real Estate for good, indeed! Our new "Meryl-acle" worker -- if you want someone who will support you with integrity, brilliance, kindness, passion, honesty and the tenacity this wild market requires, she's the one. read more

Meryl was great to work with, An extremely knowledgeable professional, insightful, responsive and very resourceful.. a true asset one needs to have in such complex and competitive market like San Francisco.. Meryl coached us through the lengthy, complicated and challenging journey from identifying suitable properties, pricing for the right offer and negotiating the right terms. With a vast network of mortgage brokers and bankers, Meryl introduced us to the right people that facilitated the completion of the transaction.. We are very pleased with the quality of service and certainly recommend her. read more

Working with Meryl in our recent housing search and buying process in this San Francisco real estate market was a total dream! Meryl is deeply passionate about real estate and walked us through every step along the way. She is impeccable in explaining the process, being available through multiple forms of communication and was present for many of our site visits. Meryl has a very warm and welcoming demeanor. My partner and I were able to purchase the condo of our dreams with the help of Meryl. I would recommend her highly to anyone looking for excellence in real estate services and feel fortunate to have had the opportunity to work with Meryl! read more

I could not have asked for a better real estate agent than Meryl. She was outstanding in every way. I just sold my house in Marin and Meryl made the whole process as easy as possible for me. She listened to me and heard my needs, at the same time sharing her vast knowledge and experience in real estate that I don't have. I particularly liked her emphasis on communication with the client and felt that she always kept me in the loop. She responded very quickly to my texts and phone calls so I always knew what was going on. She thought about all kinds of little details that would never have occurred to me, and truly had my best interests at heart. I felt supported but never pressured to make a decision one way or the other. Meryl was a terrific ally and partner in this sale -- knowledgeable, professional, proactive and very responsive. Meryl is the best! read more

Meryl is thorough, super responsive, and blessedly straight forward -- a quality I value -- but in a warm, supportive way. She's uncannily adept at combining your budgetary parameters with what you *say* you want in a house, and how you actually respond to properties you've seen, and quickly re-tailors her suggestions accordingly. Because of this, she helped us nail down our true priorities, and was able to gently keep us on track if we got swayed by a "pretty face" that didn't have what we needed. In addition, she never once tried to steer us towards homes outside of our budget. She was fantastic at educating us about the SF market and taught us why certain homes were out of reach despite their deceptively friendly listing prices. And finally, it has to be mentioned that she's a clear expert on San Francisco's unlike-any-other, trend-bucking market, and the real estate professionals who work within it. I'll end with a personal share: I was freaked out at the idea of buying a home and I started the process feeling really nervous. But within a week, Meryl helped me feel like a confident, informed buyer and if I ever have to go through this again, she'll be the first person I call. read more

Meryl was great working with. She is the professional and did a fantastic job. Huge Thank You to her for making the transaction smooth and painless. I do recommend her for any real-estate needs. read more

My wife and I were new to the SF market and not quite sure where to begin. One hour with Meryl, we learned all about her options in San Francisco from single-family residences to condos to TICs. She's a great person to talk to you if you're just starting here in San Francisco to look for your first home. We really enjoy her insight and how authentic and down to earth she is! read more

We could not have made a better decision than to work with Meryl in the search of our San Francisco home. She did an amazing job at explaining complex real estate processes and concepts in a way that we understood as first timers. She has a lot of experience with San Francisco and we got tremendous amount of inputs about neighborhoods, schools and transportation from her. Meryl is really good at understanding what her clients want - both parties - and always showed us properties that fitted most of our requirements if not all. She could easily navigate these even when the wish list evolved. She kept tabs on everything and was on top of all deadlines. Meryl showed high professionalism and responsiveness, was always on time and ready for action. She was also highly available for conversations and advice. She has a sharp eye for important details, and never misses even the tiniest defects. Meryl is honest and respectful and did advise against properties when she thought it was not in our best interest to buy them. Thanks to her wide network she came up with awesome pre-market opportunities. At the end of the process she took every step, including climbing fences, to ensure the house we bought was in good condition. Last but not least Meryl is a really nice person with whom working is fun and enjoyable. We are thrilled with our house and would work with Meryl again in a heartbeat! read more

"We were first time home buyers in the crazy, highly competitive San Francisco market and we LOVED working with Meryl, who provided us the expert insights, guidance and advocacy that resulted in us finding a truly great home for our family. Meryl was a great partner - very easy to work with, highly responsive and detail-oriented. She communicates exceedingly well - not only with us but also with the sellers and lenders, which we found to be crucial in navigating the fast moving, complex and competitive market dynamics. Meryl earned our trust early on by providing us with sharp and accurate insights on the market (based on her extensive knowledge of comps and long time real estate experience in the San Francisco Market), a broad network of resources she could mobilize to help us evaluate properties (inspectors, contractors, designers, etc.) and the ability to effectively negotiate and influence outcomes in our favor with the sellers. AND Meryl was warm, patient and open (qualities not to be overlooked in the frenzy of it all). Prior to our purchase, Meryl helped us look at a variety of options in a range of neighborhoods (she quickly and regularly surfaced new properties for us), helped us meaningfully evaluate the merits of each, and ultimately helped us locate the exact right house in the right area for us. Ultimately we won with our bid, it was within our budget and close to the asking price - and Meryl had a lot to do with that. The best testament to her work with us is how we feel now after we have made the purchase...which is that we are LOVING the new house. Meryl steered us right and got us to the best possible outcome we could have hoped for. I couldn't recommend Meryl more highly as outstanding agent and trusted partner in the home buying process in San Francisco." read more

It was a true pleasure working with Meryl! She is of course extremely responsible and knowledgeable, but we always appreciated her honest opinion and the personal touch that she added to all of her communication with us. Her recommendations were creative yet spot-on, and she never made us feel out of our comfort zone. Meryl has the ability to read your needs and taste without them being clearly articulated. She always allowed us to lead the conversation, but her guidance was invaluable. With her deep knowledge of SF schools, we now cannot wait to continue to seek advice from Meryl as we navigate our way through the SF school system. read more

Meryl is a fantastic real estate agent, period. My boyfriend and I have owned quite a few homes between the both of us and Meryl stood out as the best agent by far. In the end, we found the perfect place outside of SF where we had already been working with another agent (our experience with that other agent was definitely subpar). However, we were very close to making the move to San Francisco, in part because Meryl really listened, understood and connected the dots for us - she really got us. She saved us time, was accommodating, creative in her ideas and suggestions, as well as strategic in approach and making offers. I recommend her without reservation and have referred to The Meryl Bennan Experience when talking about real estate agents. read more

In real estate, especially San Francisco real estate, having a trusted advisor on your side is paramount to success. Meryl was our trusted advisor for our recent home-buying experience in SF. She is a consummate professional: extremely detailed, an open communicator, incredibly knowledgeable about market pricing, and well-respected by her peers. Throughout our buying experience, Meryl was accessible, pushed us when needed and recognized when we needed a little space (buying in SF is next-level stress), and personally visited each home we were interested in to offer her professional observations. My wife and I especially liked her use of technology for comps - which made it easy for busy professionals to see the data and information at our convenience. If we buy or sell a home in San Francisco again, Meryl will be the only agent we will contact. You cannot go wrong with Meryl as your trusted advisor in SF real estate. read more

I worked with Meryl Bennan to put in an offer on an investment property in this crazy San Francisco real estate market. Meryl worked energetically and quickly to help me make a compelling offer. She presented me with valuable information on recent comparable sales, introduced me to a mortgage broker to get pre-approved, helped me craft a terrific letter to present to the seller, and presented my offer in person to the listing agent on the offer date. Meryl did everything in her power to get the deal done. Ultimately, the seller decided to hold out for a higher price. If you're looking for a real estate agent to work tirelessly on your behalf, Meryl is a great choice! read more

Meryl was the ultimate partner throughout our home purchase process. Her communication was top-notch and she handled some tricky negotiations with the seller's agent like a seasoned professional. She also paved the way for smooth sailing with the loan officer when some unexpected complications arose. Perhaps more importantly, she helped us understand what our priorities were and what tradeoffs we would have to consider. Meryl knows the San Francisco real estate market extremely well and she has my highest recommendation for anyone looking to make a purchase amidst steep competition. I particularly recommend her to young families, since she has been so involved with and is very familiar with SF schools. read more

I cannot say enough good things about Meryl. She sold my condo and went out of her way to make it as stress free as possible and I was a nervous wreck!! She was always available to answer my questions and was in constant contact letting me know what was happening. She worked hard to get comp's, which was difficult since my condo was only 388 sq Ft but she found several. I got more money than I ever thought possible and thanks to Meryl it was a great process and outcome. I highly recommend her to anyone who is looking for an agent. The best part is that she donates some of her commission to the charity of your choice and who can argue with that!!! Not only will St.Jude's Children's Hospital reap the benefits but I did as well. Thanks so much Meryl!!!! read more