We're not sure if we've ever been more excited to write a review. [[HIGHLIGHT]]From our first phone call with Sophia Niu, we knew we had someone special.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] [[HIGHLIGHT]]Before our relocation to Alameda, we interviewed several prospective realtors and Sophia was the only one who wasn't in a rush to show us properties. Rather, she asked questions, listened to our desires, and very clearly stated how she and her firm could help us in our journey to find our next home[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]]. From the very beginning she had our trust, and that trust only strengthened as we proceeded through the home buying process. Not only is Sophia an Alameda housing market specialist, but she's a resident herself and knows every detail about the different neighborhoods and communities. Moreover, she is very well respected by her peers - when other realtors heard we were represented by Sophia they always seemed impressed. We knew we were in good hands. [[HIGHLIGHT]]We loved viewing prospective homes with her. In fact, we got to the point where we preferred skipping open houses and making appointments with Sophia and her team instead[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]]. [[HIGHLIGHT]]Speaking of her team, we don't want to leave out Gina. As an Alameda specialist herself, Gina was also available to provide an expert "third opinion/perspective" on homes we were interested in.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] They even got to know us so well that they could predict which homes we would like and which ones we would not before we even saw them. Finally, and most importantly, Sophia helped us find a home that we love and to close on the deal quickly and smoothly. If you are considering Alameda, you know the market is fiercely competitive for buyers. You definitely want Sophia by your side. read more

[[HIGHLIGHT]]Sophia has been my realtor for 11 years. She has helped me to buy two houses, and also helped many of my friends buy and sell homes over the years.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] [[HIGHLIGHT]]Sophia is great at understanding your needs, finding a house that works for you, and helping to strategize how to get the home you want in a way that feels like true partnership.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] Both times that I have used Sophia, the transaction was incredibly smooth. She's a great communicator, moves quickly, and is extremely knowledgable and transparent. I cannot give a higher endorsement. If you are looking for a realtor in Alameda, choose Sophia. read more

[[HIGHLIGHT]]My family was very fortunate to have Sophia as our real estate agent.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] [[HIGHLIGHT]]While our home search took years, Sophia was patient and empathetic during the entire process.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] She has expert knowledge in the Alameda market and explains thoroughly what you need to know about a property. Her advice is solid. When we finally found our home, Sophia advocated for us and ensured we knew everything we needed to know to make it a smooth transaction. I highly recommend Sophia Niu and her team! read more

Our family has had the pleasure of working with Sophia Niu twice, and we honestly couldn't recommend her more. She helped us buy our first home in Alameda, which came with plenty of complications given our unique situation. Years later, when it was time to find our family's forever home, we knew right away we wanted to work with her again. [[HIGHLIGHT]]Sophia patiently spent months touring homes with us, always offering honest opinions and thoughtful advice.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] [[HIGHLIGHT]]She brings such a warm, kind energy that makes the whole process feel enjoyable and low-stress (as can be).[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] Both times, Sophia impressed us with her professionalism, transparency, and realistic approach--always keeping our priorities, concerns, and budget in mind. On top of being an amazing realtor, she's incredibly well-connected and has been a huge help with everything home-related. Her reputation truly speaks for itself, and we wouldn't hesitate to work with her again in a heartbeat. read more

[[HIGHLIGHT]]We had an amazing experience working with her.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] She handled everything from start to finish, including coordinating the remodel to get our home ready for sale, which made a huge difference. Throughout the process, her advice was spot-on--she knew exactly when to pass, counter, and accept offers, and we trusted her judgment completely. She's incredibly knowledgeable and made what could have been a stressful process feel smooth and manageable. Highly recommend--absolutely worth every penny. read more

Buying our first home in the Bay Area was a huge life milestone, and [[HIGHLIGHT]]we feel incredibly blessed to have had Sophia guiding us every step of the way.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] We actually found her through a Reddit referral--and from our very first conversation, we knew we had made the right decision. We started our search about seven months ago, unsure of what to expect given the unpredictable market conditions. But from the beginning, [[HIGHLIGHT]]Sophia made everything feel surprisingly smooth. She was patient, empathetic, attentive, and never pushy--just consistently offered thoughtful advice, deep local knowledge of Alameda, and a calm, reassuring presence.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] One moment that really stood out: Sophia introduced us to a home just before it officially hit the market. We toured it that same day and immediately fell in love--with both the house and the neighborhood. She encouraged us to make an early offer, and it turned out to be the perfect move. On top of that, she happened to know the sellers--her husband had coached their daughter in softball! That personal connection, combined with her strategic insight, helped our offer stand out and ultimately led us to closing on the home in 17 days! [[HIGHLIGHT]]Now that we're settling into our new place in Alameda, it truly feels like the perfect fit. It's more than just a house--it's the beginning of a new chapter. And we know it wouldn't have happened without Sophia's support, expertise, and genuine care.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] If you're looking for a realtor who's sharp, deeply connected in Alameda, and truly invested in your journey--we can't recommend Sophia highly enough!! read more

[[HIGHLIGHT]]Sophia helped us buy a property that was definitely not a straightforward transaction.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] The place was in rough shape, which meant we couldn't use traditional financing. [[HIGHLIGHT]]She connected us with the right people to make it happen, and her guidance through the whole process was amazing.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] [[HIGHLIGHT]]What really stood out was how well she managed communication and expectations with the sellers.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] Even though it was a tricky deal, everything went surprisingly smoothly. I'd 100% work with her again and wholeheartedly recommend her. She's great at navigating challenging situations and getting deals done. read more

We had the absolute pleasure of working with Sophia Niu to sell our home, and we truly cannot recommend her highly enough. From the very beginning, Sophia was well-prepared, professional, and incredibly personable. [[HIGHLIGHT]]She communicated clearly and consistently every step of the way, which gave us so much peace of mind throughout the process.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] Sophia is exceptionally organized--she created a detailed schedule and timeline for everything we needed to do to get the house ready for market and kept us on track throughout. Since we weren't living in the home at the time, she and her team went above and beyond to make sure the property stayed in top shape--watering plants, picking up leaves, and keeping everything looking its best. She created a gorgeous website that beautifully showcased our home, and she personally fine-tuned the staging to make it even more inviting and appealing. Her eye for detail and presentation really made a difference. Sophia also came in with a thoughtful and strategic marketing plan, targeting the right audience to maximize visibility and interest. Thanks to her efforts, our home sold after just two weekends on the market, and she negotiated a fantastic price for us. [[HIGHLIGHT]]We felt like we were in the very best hands the entire time.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] Sophia brings the perfect balance of warmth, professionalism, and expertise. We're so grateful for all the care and dedication she brought to our sale--if you're looking for a truly outstanding realtor, she's the one. read more

I discovered Sophia on Yelp, and from our first phone call, I knew she was the right choice. She's a total pro and super knowledgeable about the Alameda real estate market. I'd been trying to buy a house in Alameda for over a decade, on and off, but never closed a deal--until Sophia came along. Sophia nails price estimates for the current market. Her team, especially Gina, is incredible. They're honest, hardworking, and genuinely dedicated to helping me find the perfect home for a single mom with two kids. Plus, they even helped me create a list of reliable vendors after I purchased the home. Sophia and her crew are just amazing! Highly Recommended! read more

[[HIGHLIGHT]]Sophia was referred to our family through a friend and with her expertise, we are thrilled to have just purchased our first home.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] [[HIGHLIGHT]]We found Sophia to be easy to talk to and most importantly, she was honest with us about the reality of the current market and what we had to work with.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] Once we found the house that we wanted, Sophia helped us to negotiate our way to a deal that we are very pleased with. Sophia helped us navigate through the ins and outs of buying a home in the Alameda County and we would absolutely work with her again. read more

[[HIGHLIGHT]]Sophia supported me through selling my condo and buying a new home in Alameda.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] I wasn't sure I'd ever be able to buy a single family home in Alameda and had almost given up. Her and her team were great! They got me through the process of getting my condo through the prep work, selling the condo (even dealing with HOA directly), and moving to my new house. Sophia is really knowlegable about the local market and she even recommended someone to fix the garage door at my new house. I am writing this review from my new home which I love! read more

Sophia Niu is an amazing real estate agent offering high-touch, white-glove service that went above and beyond expectations. We literally moved out, handed her the keys, and she took care of coordinating everything -- a minor kitchen renovation, replacing fixtures, painting, staging, landscaping, photography, and more. Sophia and her team (shout out to Jen McAnaney) advised us on what improvements we should make to our house that would make a big impact and would return a meaningful ROI. We came up with a plan, stayed below budget, and stayed on time. Someone stopped by every morning to make sure the house was ready for showings, picking up stray leaves in the yard. And again in the evening to make sure the house was clean, lights were off, and doors were locked. In the end, we received multiple offers, sold for more than we expected, in just one week. I should add that three years earlier (2018), we worked with Sophia to purchase our house and had a really great experience as well. That's why we didn't hesitate to work with her again to get our place listed and sold, and we are so glad we did! read more

Sophia Niu Group - Compass - Real Estate Agents Near Me - Alameda, California

Sophia came highly recommended to us by family members who'd worked with her previously and let me tell you, she did not disappoint! From the moment we first met to talk through our wish list to the day she handed us the keys to our first home, we could not have dreamt of a better real estate agent to guide us through the entire process than Sophia. Over the many months we worked with her, she proved time and time again that we were in good hands. Her expertise and counsel when it comes to the home buying process, especially for first-timers and in this unpredictable market, is unparalleled. I'm grateful to Sophia for all she did for us. If I'm ever in the market again in the future, I wouldn't hesitate to work with her again! read more

Sophia Niu = nicest and hardest working realtor I dealt with the past 4 years. I've actually started looking for a property around fall of 2018 around Alameda and just so happen to be scheduled with Sophia Niu as I was looking at listings from Keller Williams. At the time, I was not really 100% sure what I wanted for my first home and I was all over the place but Sophia was very patient with me and also very informative with what is available around the area. She is super responsive and is very active looking at potential properties I may like. Let's be honest, I was not the easiest person to deal with. It went from condo to an apartment, from a house to a duplex. Then a multi-plex, back to a house. And then a townhouse which became a condo. Yes, like I said, I was all over the place. But she hung in there... She helped me plant seeds by being in contact with lenders and also sending me weekly updates on listings around Alameda (and the Bay Area). She reaches out to me consistently even when there were moments I had no motivation to find a property and just ignored her texts. She could have easily stopped with all the communication. But she hung in there... Couple years back, a week or so before the pandemic and the shelter in place forever changed our lives, Sophia helped me close a house in Vallejo. But for some reason, it just didn't feel right and I pulled out of the contract right before the earnest fee. Normally, I would expect any realtor will be disappointed and may not want to work with me again. But Sophia was super patient and was professionally friendly. She still wants to work with me and find me a home. She hung in there.... Around mid January, I reached out to Sophia, I have a timeline to meet. For many weekends straight, we will go to open listings ALL over the Bay Area. Leaving no stones unturned and 100% committed, both of us checked out everything under the sun. She would gave me tips on what to look for if I go solo but every time she's with me at a viewing, she will offer her honest opinions on what I'm looking for, if it's a good investment, etc. She will point out the negative and will tell me 'DO NOT BUY THIS PROPERTY' if anything is off. We saw some beautiful homes! We saw some ugly ones too! This last listing we went to take a look at back in April, totally last minute. If I remember correctly, listing just popped up on a Tuesday. By Wednesday, Sophia was able to get me a private viewing before the schedule weekend open house. By Thursday, I made an offer (with assistance from Sophia - giving me pointers). And by Friday, the offer was accepted. . She kept me in the loop on all activities and prepared me for any negotiation that may be needed. It was fast and she was on top of everything. Just this past last week, she handed the keys to my new home. I am forever grateful that she hung in there with me and made buying a home a bit more bearable. Thank you so much Sophia! We will definitely keep in touch! read more

Another seamless partnership of awesomeness. Sophia was spectacular in helping us sell our home. Three years ago, she helped us find it. When the time came to sell, we knew that there was only one choice in realtor. She knows Alameda like the back of her hand. She also knows the market like no other. She came in with a strategy and executed it flawlessly. What an amazing experience. Oh how we wish every realtor was as amazing as Sophia Niu. She is amazingly responsive. Any time we had a question, she was there to answer it. We packed up our home and cleared everything out. She did ALL the legwork in arranging for cleaners to come in a scrub the place from head to toe. She coordinated the staging of our home and made sure that it really popped. When the house went on the market, it generated an immediate buzz. We had OFFERS almost immediately. We ended up selling for $102,000 OVER ASKING. And this all happened while we were already in another state. She even put our trash cans out to be picked up after we had already moved. Now that's what I call service. Thank you so much, Sophia. You truly are amazing. read more

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If I could give Sophia more than 5 stars, I would. My husband and I have dreamed of moving to Alameda for almost a year but we found trying to gain entrance into this market, especially during the summer housing peak, quite challenging. We almost gave up. Then a serendipitous conversation led to the referral to Sophia. I was told, "She's amazing and knows every nook of Alameda" and he was right! Sophia is amazing.. she is so nice, professional and informative, bringing comps to every showing and really picking up on what you want in a home. And it seems she knows Alameda like the back of her hand, offering a wealth of alameda real estate and neighborhood knowledge every time we met. She also would be prepared with an extra listing to show us if we had time, and more times than not, those were the houses we put offers on. And with those offers, based on her helpful information, we got really close! And when we didn't get the home, she helped pick us back up and get us back out. Because the right home was out there for us.. A short 3 Months and about 3 offers later.. here comes a house that she knew checked every box on our list and an open house was approaching quickly. We were unsure if we could make a competitive offer but Sophia was informative and gently nudged us to make the offer anyway. She referred us to a fantastic lender that was able to help strengthen our offer. She was able to arrange a pre-emptive offer which we had in front of the sellers with a request to accept in 48 hours, two days before the open house. She worked closely with the selling agent and the night before the open house, our offer was accepted! We couldn't be happier with our home. It's everything we wanted and more and definitely would not have happened without the amazing Sophia! read more

We first used Sophia to help buy a house in 2019 in Alameda. Our situation required us to move in 2024 so we sold that house, again with Sophia's help. [[HIGHLIGHT]]Sophia is very knowledgeable, professional, and has a great team.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] We needed preparatory work done on our house which she and her team designed and executed on time and on budget. [[HIGHLIGHT]]Sophia was very responsive and her expertise in navigating the (multiple) offers was invaluable.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] Sophia is a great realtor, whether you're buying or selling. read more

I had reached out to a couple of agents in anticipation of selling my home, and Sophia was by-far the most responsive and communicative from the get-go, and had a clear plan and deep knowledge of the market, so it was an easy choice to go with her. Sophia made the home selling process super easy and straightforward from beginning to end. She chose awesome vendors to prepare the home for sell, she coordinated everything expertly, she was very responsive, she took the time to explain and answer whenever I had questions or concerns. She deftly managed the process in a way that made me feel at ease and confident in her throughout. I would highly recommend her for any home selling/buying needs! read more

Sophia went above and beyond to help us find a house that fit our needs. As a first time home buyer, I was so reassured by Sophia's demonstrated experience and trustworthy, rock-solid judgment. Almost every concern we had was something she had already given thought to and was working on (and she would raise two more potential risk items that we had not even considered!). Sophia never failed to step in with a very balanced piece of advice or to help walk us through a tough decision when things felt chaotic. She was the first to pump the brakes or raise a red flag whenever she saw something that would be bad for us and truly had our best interests in mind. If I could afford to buy more houses I would ask Sophia every time, no doubt! read more

I interviewed alot of realtors in Alameda , Sophia was the one I decided to sell my Victorian home , she knocked it out of park and sold in a timely fashion. Very knowledgeable in the industry, I gave her the steering wheel and she did the best job ever .. The touches she did to video and photography were a master piece .. My home found a new family that can enjoy all my hard work . You won't be disappointed call Sophia and you to will be happy .... read more

Do you remember that scene in Endgame? Thanos, having both traveled through time and dispatched most of the Avengers either with his (i) daughter, (ii) ship or (iii) fists is pummelling fat Thor. Mid-pummel, though, Thanos gets absolutely hammered (you see what I did there?) by Mjolnir. Now, like the rest of the theater at that moment, I wasn't breathing because, I mean - FatThor's getting straight up housed by the mad Titan, so how's Mjolnir doing anything?! Can Thor mind control Mjolnir now? Is this some sort of wack Disney/Jedi crossover? And then. You see it. The Hammer. Caught by the Captain, and it's the beginning of the end for Mr. "I could just add more resources to the Universe but I'll Snap ya'll instead." I cheered. I'll admit it. I became, as Mike Meyers used to say, verklempt because I, and fatThor, in that moment, saw a light that brought hope. Sophia Niu, of Niu Real Estate in Alameda, is much like a Mjolnir wielding Captain Rogers in this regard. She brought hope to pandemic-me when I was being pummeled by a system that makes real estate transactions an absolute nightmare. She brought light, possibility and victory to a dark situation and she did it with mythic grace, power and style. See, my family, had a great home on the West End. We'd been there for five years and had built great memories...but we also added a baby to make us parents of 3 and our oldest was pushing 9. We just needed more space. But (i) pandemic, (ii) real estate can be so overwhelming, (iii) we're self-employed and lenders kind of hate us and (iv) pandemic. We'd known Sophia for years socially, and some friends of ours recommended her, so we called her. It is nearly the best decision we ever made. Sophia worked with us for months. She showed us houses within our range and all over the island. She listened to my concerns and my wife's concerns and managed to synthesize the two. She would facetime-tour houses for us we didn't have time to otherwise see. She found our lender and helped us communicate with them to get the right deal. Ultimately, she found us our dream home, off market. We saw it on a Saturday and, after a stress filled evening, managed to convince the sellers not to show it until they made a decision on our offer the nest day. But wait, THERE'S MORE! Not only did Sophia help us buy our dream house, she helped us sell our prior house. After the magic she pulled getting us our new house *off* market, I thought that was the best way to go with selling our house. No staging, no fixing, no landscaping, no worries right? WRONG. I am SO GLAD Sophia talked us out of low-balling our sale. Yes, we spent a little getting it into selling shape but the return was galactically beyond our expectations. Bottom line, from beginning to end, Iron Man to Endgame, sale, finance, purchase and throughout: working with Sophia was an absolute pleasure. She is always available, always easy going, always professional and always a dream. I am so glad we worked with her, and I cannot recommend her enough. read more

Look no further, friend. I was in your position just a couple months ago, reading all her great yelp reviews and thinking, if it was all true. Rest assured - Sophia is THE agent you want on your side! My growing family was ready to make a change and find a single family home that fit our needs. We survived the height of the pandemic in a 1 bedroom apartment and needed more space after living a decade in the city. We wanted a place that was "home" but also gave us similar amenities we liked about our SF neighborhood. The East Bay has been a HOT, HOT market! We wanted to make sure we found someone who understood what we were and were not open to. Someone who we could trust would be getting us the most for what we budgeted. After all, this is a huge purchase! We didn't want to risk buyer's remorse! Sophia was just the right person we needed, especially as we started gearing up for open house visits. She is smart, personable, and very attentive to details. As housing market newbies, we had a lot of questions and she was always patient with us and informative, so easy to talk to! She's very knowledgable of the current market and was helpful when we went to different viewings - showing us what to look for, what to avoid, things to consider. On multiple occasions, she gave us insight into houses that we viewed, which we now look back on and we are SO GLAD she did. She lets you lead the house viewings, letting her know what you like, what you don't like. She lets you communicate all your initial thoughts -- which we really appreciated, being allowed to formulate our own considerations. And then, after you're done, she provides her own insight and feedback on things she notices, things we should consider when purchasing the home. Within weeks of meeting Sophia, we eventually settled on a home that we otherwise would not have looked at (thinking it was beyond our budget), had Sophia not recommended a quick viewing. She helped us strategically facilitate an offer before their next open house weekend and we were able to close on a beautiful home, all within our budget! In an area we otherwise would not have considered! This review is long overdue, as it has been several months since we moved in (late Summer 2021). There is truly not a day that goes by where I am not relieved and grateful for the beautiful home and neighborhood we now live in. I would not hesitate to recommend her to all of my friends and I look forward to working with her again in the future! read more

My wife and I started preparing to purchase our first home this Summer. As first time home buyers, we had a ton of questions, confusion, and an element of terror in approaching the Bay Area housing market. We called several real estate agents after looking up reviews online for professionals that serviced Alameda. After talking to Sophia on the phone just once, we could tell that the glowing reviews for her online were honest and true. She effortlessly handled all of our questions, provided great information and answers, and had a very approachable and friendly communication style that made discussing the details of what we wanted in our future home easy. We talked to Sophia on Friday, she gave us the details of a trusted and effective Loan officer that we were planning on talking to on Monday to get pre-approved. All of our friends and relatives told us to brace ourselves for loosing multiple bids and having a painstaking process over several months to find a house. What actually happened couldn't have been further from that. 2 days later, on Sunday, we toured a couple of open-houses in the area just to get a sense of what was currently available in person (though we had been passively browsing Zillow posts for over 2 years at this point). The second house we walked into, we knew was the one. It was listed under our max budget, and had literally everything we were looking for in a house. We asked the realtor at the open house what the status of the house was, and he said that there was a verbal agreement to close. Disappointment washed over us, and we left the open house thinking that this house would be the 'one that got away'. Sophia had told us that she was running another open house in the area that same day, though not in our price range, and we decided to pop over there just to meet Sophia in person for the first time. The open house was beautifully arranged, and was getting lots of traffic and interest. We walked through the house until we found Sophia, and told her about the perfect house we just saw that we thought would get away. "Wait, so they just said verbal agreement, right? Nothing in writing?" "Nothing in writing, but it seemed pretty final..." "Hold on, I'm going to make a call." The next thing we knew, the house was back on the menu. Sophia had somehow managed to negotiate room for us to counter offer, and called in a favor with a loan agent contact to help get us pre-approved at 4PM on a Sunday. Sophia went to the house to chat with the realtor and buy us time while we filled out the paperwork. We were pre-approved by 5, and submitted our offer shortly thereafter. The next morning we hear that there was another counter offer to ours, but it was still under our maximum budget. Sophia coached us through the offer, suggested a counter offer price and helped us deliver it to the realtor. That afternoon, Sophia called us to let us know the offer had been accepted. After bidding on just one house, in less than 24 hours of searching, we'd landed our dream home! Long story short, Sophia is an incredibly effective real estate professional. I'm certain she's one of, if not the very best one in Alameda. If you give her a chance, you won't be disappointed. We're certain that her expertise, connections, and willingness to go the extra mile are the reason we got the amazing home that we did. Thank you Sophia! p.s. After everything was complete and we signed all the papers, the title company manager told us that "Sophia is the nicest agent their team has worked with." read more

If you are looking to buy/sell a house in Alameda, Sophia is the first person you should call! My wife and I worked with her to buy our first home and she was so great to work with. She knew the market really well and knew exactly what we needed to do to win in a very competitive market. Sophia was able to make the stressful process of homebuying much easier with her guidance. We had originally worked with another realtor but ended up changing realtors to work with Sophia based on a friends recommendation. We are so happy we made that decision. It was night and day compared to the previous realtor. Sophia helped us formulate a plan and bidding strategy based off of market conditions. She was able to find very helpful information by using her strong connections with the other realtors in the market. In sum, we HIGHLY recommend Sophia if you are buying/selling a home in Alameda! read more

In October of 2020, I was finally ready to buy my first home. I researched and googled many real estate agents when I came across Sophia's business profile. I reached out and we set up a zoom call (being in the middle of a global pandemic and all). I learned about how she operated and she learned about what I was looking for in a first home. Let me tell you, she did not disappoint. She was very professional, kind, patient, and most importantly, listened. I was patiently waiting for more condo listings, when she brought to my attention a spacious condo in my ideal location. Initially, I had overlooked the property based on the listing pictures because there were a limited number of pictures and they weren't pretty. Sophia pulled out the pictures from the prior listing (about 3 years ago), which showed off the property in a much better light. That got me through the door, literally. I scheduled my first viewing. After talking to Sophia about the condo itself and the market, I submitted an offer that evening, and the next day, was officially in escrow. We planned for a 30-day close but the recorder's office took a bit longer than expected due to the pandemic. But Sophia was a superstar. She knew the weekend after our expected close day, I was going to clean the unit in preparation for the move the following week (had to be out of my previous place by the end of the month) but I didn't have the keys yet. So she hired a cleaning crew to help cut down on prep time and definitely helped keep my stress levels down in an otherwise high-stress situation. I'm so happy to have Sophia as my realtor. She made the process as stress-free as possible, answering all my questions through a pandemic, and even helping find paint colors and painters. Her knowledge and patience are invaluable. She is such an asset to Alameda. I highly recommend her if you are looking for a home in Alameda. I look forward to working with her again in the future. read more

We cannot recommend Sophia highly enough! My husband and I worked with her to purchase our home in Alameda. She is extremely professional, fast, and has her finger on the pulse of the local real estate market. Her services were absolutely excellent from start to finish. Unlike other agents we have worked with in the past for prior home purchases, Sophia was extremely proactive and really understood what we were looking for in our forever home. In the midst of the pandemic, she found us our dream home through an off-market sale. She ensured that we had all of the necessary information to feel comfortable in making a quick decision, and submitted our offer before others could view the property. This allowed us to avoid aggressive bidding wars and come in under budget - something we didn't think was possible in the current real estate market. We are now working with her network of trusted, local contractors to renovate our new home. Sophia is truly the best - you will be in excellent hands! read more

Originally we signed up with another realtor at this firm who had a series of family emergencies and passed us along to Gina. Everything started off fine but then she brought in another realtor, Sophia, who took the lead. At first we were told our house didn't require any modifications to sell and we were told it should sell for what we hoped (not putting $ in here). A few weeks into the process Gina and Sophia told us the house needed ~ $75k worth of modifications. We agreed on no more than $50k. I had to beg to see marketing collateral which they made many mistakes with. They never did any marketing through the mail though we requested this up front. They said they did 2 highly successful open houses but only 3 bids were received and 1 was verbal and another was not supported by the offer's financial situation. So let's say it was 1 bid and it was under what we had been told we'd get. During closing we discovered they were billing us $54k for modifications which we had never approved so the paperwork had to be changed. We were guaranteed they would take care of everything; we moved out of town so we had to trust them. We had all sorts of furniture and stuff to be donated, they said they'd handle it. We trusted them. Gina sent me the donation receipts 4 months after the sale and nothing was itemized. I wouldn't put it past them to have made money with our belongings and just given piecemeal stuff to the nonprofit organizations. This process could have been so much better. Once they got their share of the sale, we heard nothing from them. Crickets. No thank you. Nothing. Until the donation receipts arrived without any note at all. Would you want to trust this person with the biggest most stressful period of your life? read more

Sophia is the most reliable, knowledgeable , patient and hard working realtor we ever work with. Since we are selling and buying the house, my husband and I have a lot of items in our checklist for the next dream house. Sophia not only help us scored our dream house in a super hot housing market and she also managed to fulfilled our long checklist for this dream house. By the time we are ready to sell our first house, the market turned cold drastically, we are a bit nervous we won't be able to sell it but Sophia use her professional skills, gave us some fantastic suggestions, took care of the entire remodeling project and have our house sold in a record time with a very satisfied outcome. We couldn't be happier and so grateful we have Sophia to be our realtor! We never thought of buying and selling a house can be so hassle and stress free, it is all because of the hard work from Sophia and her team. If you are looking for a GREAT realtor, look no further, Sophia will be your best choice! read more

We met Sophia very briefly at an open house in Alameda and she left such a warm, positive first impression on us that when we later found her dazzling reviews online, we knew we wanted to follow up with her. Prior to our initial meeting with her, we sent some details on what we were looking for so once we stepped into her office she already had a keen sense of what would be a good fit for us. At that initial meeting, she showed us an off-market opportunity that we talked over and visited. We didn't think it was possible to get a house that large for our price range and quickly fell in love with the property. In the following days, Sophia guided us through the process to place an offer attractive enough for the seller to not move forward with bringing the house to market. Through Sophia's expert negotiation, the seller eventually accepted and two weeks later we closed. So only three weeks after we first stepped foot in Sophia's office did we have the keys to our dream home. What an unbelievable experience. As a first-time home buyer, I will say that the process is pretty confusing. There is a lot of paperwork that you will not understand at any detailed level. This makes it really important to have a realtor that you trust. Sophia is a realtor you can put your trust in to work for you and your best interests. Sophia is smart, communicative, responsive, and empathetic. She was always willing to jump on the phone to address our concerns/last minute fears. We can't recommend Sophia enough. read more

Sophia is an excellent realtor who I can't recommend enough. She helped us find our dream home in Alameda, which was made all the more challenging during the COVID-19 pandemic. Through her network she was able to find our home off-market, and for a great price, completely avoiding the bidding wars we saw around us. We've also relied on her network of professionals and contractors in the area to help fix up our new home after we moved in. Sophia was a pleasure to work with, and quickly helped us figure out what we were looking for in a home. She was really patient with us as we figured out what we wanted. We also lived about an hour away so she was great at scheduling multiple showings at once and working around our schedule. Her extensive local knowledge helped us find the right place in just a few months. I can't recommend her enough! read more

I wish I could give 10 stars as Sophia is incredible. By chance, we met Sophia at an open house she was hosting & we are soooo lucky to have found her. We had already been working with another agent for around 6 months & felt like it wasn't going anywhere- multiple failed offers & broken hearts. Within one conversation with Sophia I knew she would not only help us find a home, but even better- our dream home. Within a week of meeting, we scheduled a call & went out to look at homes the following weekend. Sophia was able to show us homes that were not yet on the market which let us have a competitive advantage & so we could avoid bidding wars. That first weekend, Sophia showed us our off market dream home on Sunday, we made an offer the next day & that Wednesday it was accepted! Sophia guided us through the entire process & knew exactly what we needed to offer in order to get the deal done. Not only is she a complete asset in the buying process, she has connected us with a number of other highly skilled individuals to help with some of the updates we want to make on our home to make it ours. We love Sophia & would HIGHLY recommend her to anyone. Thank you for everything Sophia!!!! read more

Many people have worked with a good agent, but few have worked with a GREAT agent. I have worked with Sophia not just once, but twice. She helped me and my husband find and purchase our home, as well as our first investment property. I recommend her to all my friends who are house hunting. What makes Sophia AWESOME? - COMMUNICATION: Sophia truly listens to you. Budget, location, must-haves. She's super responsive (text, email, phone) and available on weekends. - HUSTLE: She is an expert in Alameda and the east bay. I can't emphasize how important this is. Sophia lives in Alameda and she gets the inside scoop!! - PARTNERSHIP: She is with you every step of the way. Let me give you a recent example of how Sophia is a true partner to you. 1) She partnered with us as first time homebuyers. Some agents don't like to work with first time homebuyers. However, Sophia loves helping first time homebuyers find their first home. She really guided us every step of the way and explained every part of the buying process to us. 2) She isn't afraid to work through "unusual" situations like a probate sale. We recently purchased a property that had to go through a drawn-out probate court process. Many agents steered away from it since it takes extra time, but Sophia saw an opportunity for us to get a GREAT deal. In the end, we purchased the property under market value with no other bids. We couldn't be happier! If you are looking for a great agent, stop looking now. Sophia is it. read more

Sophia is simply AMAZING! The reviews almost seem too good to be true, but I can say from first-hand experience that the very positive reviews you might have read are right! Sophia and her team helped my sisters and me sell our mother's duplex home in Alameda. In just 3 weeks, they completely redesigned and remodeled our kitchen (down to the studs), refinished the floors, painted the whole interior, and put a lawn in the backyard. All of this at a reasonable cost. To get this done, Sophia and Jen put together mood boards and a detailed plan for the remodel. After the work was complete, they staged the house and took loads of photos. It looked fabulous!! The house sold after just 2 weeks, with six good offers and well above asking. We couldn't be happier! Sophia and her team were dedicated, organized, and very professional. They negotiated bumps in the road with clear thinking and positive attitudes. Plus they were delightful to work with. We feel so fortunate to have worked with Sophia!! read more

We recently purchased our first home with Sophia. We feel extremely lucky to have worked with Sophia. She held so much expertise, introduced us to wonderful lenders, insurance agents, etc., guided us through a really competitive and intimidating market, and always understood our values and never pushed us to settle for anything less than what we wanted. When we bid on our current house, there were several bids higher than ours. One of the reasons the seller ultimately chose us was the fact that the seller's agents knew and trusted Sophia and her ability to close the deal. If Sophia hadn't been our agent, we are confident that we would not have been able to purchase our current home. We can't recommend her enough and would definitely work with her again. read more

Long overdue review and I certainly want to give credit where credit is due. We found Sophia from Zillow and her already amazing ratings. I had been following the market for years prior, obsessing over Zillow, and even interfaced with several other RE agents. But I never really made the connection I was looking for: someone that knows the local RE market in Alameda, where we ultimately wanted to live. Thanks to Sophia buying our new and first home all happened so quickly, a 16 day close. Partially because I knew when our home hit the market I knew we were going after it aggressively while well informed. There were 15 other bids and, aside from price, she helped us position us in ways to ultimately WIN! We also secured our new home because it was the first home she showed us and she knew exactly what we were looking for. Particularly during the process which can be very intense, we found Sophia very cordial, professional, responsive, knowledgeable, understanding and efficient. All traits you want in a RE agent. We're now living in our dream home, close to the beach in a wonderful neighborhood for our kids to grow and learn and I'm so grateful for all the hard work Sophia put into helping us achieve this. Thank you!!! read more

We were drawn to Sophia after reading her rave reviews online of being an expert in the Alameda market. We reached out to her while we were traveling and she, too, was also traveling yet took the time to talk with us and we were immediately comfortable with her. The Alameda market is/has been insane and we knew we needed someone who was well connected on the island, after we'd been mishandled by another agent. A listed popped up at 2pm, we were the first people to see it at 4pm, and we submitted an offer by 6pm. We loved the home and knew upon walking into it, that it was the one we wanted. Sophia knew the listing agent and was able to guide us with our offer, securing the property within hours of it being listed (and a competing offer). 10/10 - She is fantastic, responsive, very thorough (she contested the appraisal), and is kind, personable, and friendly! To our surprise, she paid for a home warranty for our house as well. Thanks to Sophia and her team! read more

Sophia was incredibly patient with us as we navigated the craziness that is home-buying in Alameda. She was responsive to all of our inquiries and offered the most helpful insight on many occasions. She encouraged us when got outbid (an inevitable part of Bay Area home purchasing!) and continued to search high and low for the perfect home for our family of 6. She always made us feel heard and valued, and we trusted her to act in our best interest throughout the entire process. If you are nervous about the real estate market in Alameda/the Bay Area, I would highly recommend Sophia. She is extremely knowledgeable without being condescending and very warm and friendly, which is exactly what we needed in this cutthroat market! read more

We are first time home buyers and Sophia guided us through the process, showed us numerous homes, and ultimately got us into our new house! It was wonderful working with her and I would 100% recommend her to anybody considering a home in Alameda. Her professionalism and knowledge of the market made us feel very comfortable throughout the entire process. She was very patient with us (we had a million questions) and really took the time to understand what we were looking for and what we could get with our budget. She showed us numerous off-market opportunities which ultimately is why we were able to get the home at the price we did. We can not believe what a great property we ended with! We saw so many more homes working with Sophia than we would have otherwise. She was able to really help us crystalize what we were looking for...which was incredibly important when making such a big decision! Sophia is very communicative, proactive, smart, responsive, and genuinely cared about us as clients. It was wonderful working with her through this process. We will be recommending her to all of our friends who are considering a home in Alameda. Thank you Sophia!! read more

Sophia is a gem! She knows the market and community, takes the time to get to know her client, and works hard to make sure everything is in place to make your dreams come true. We intended to interview a few Realtors before picking one to help us buy our first home. We needed someone patient and invested in pairing us with the right home. As soon as we met Sophia, we cancelled our other interviews. She asked us great questions and seemed genuinely interested in finding our family a place to call home rather than just helping us buy a house. She even had a few places pulled up to look at when we first met, based on some initial questions we answered via email. We thought it would be months before we found something that we were interested in, but Sophia sent us a listing we fell in love with almost immediately because she knew exactly what we were looking for. It's the first house we looked at and now it's ours! We met Sophia on June 15th, put in an offer on June 29th, and we closed on July 19th. Her knowledge of the market and quick-thinking call to the seller's agent got us in on a property before they'd even hosted an agent tour. She helped us write up an offer within hours, worked hard to get that offer to the sellers quickly, and we had an accepted bid 6 short hours after we decided to make an offer. No other offers were considered, the open house was canceled and this was due in no small part to Sophia's experience and assertiveness on our behalf. We can't recommend Sophia enough! She made our dream of home ownership come true in the most thoughtful, painless way possible. Everyone tells you that buying a house is stressful - I didn't feel one bit stressed during this entire process because of Sophia, her knowledge, quick actions, responsiveness, and even her recommendation for a mortgage broker (whom we chose after doing our homework - and boy, are we glad we went with one of her [lightening quick] vetted brokers!). Go see her, you will not regret it! read more

I have known Sophia for 8 years, and have had the privilege to work with her professionally for the past year. Sophia is a gem of a human being who also happens to be one of the best Realtors in the East Bay. She is incredibly knowledgeable, hard-working, and professional, as well as an excellent listener. She is respected among her professional peers and very well connected, which gives anyone who hires her an edge. Sophia's genuine care for people comes through in every conversation (including the "behind the scenes" conversations), and it's clear that she finds true joy in helping people find homes that fit their needs. I have personal relationships with many families who have hired Sophia as their Realtor - they come from diverse backgrounds and financial situations, and every single one of them raves about how grateful they are to have had her help. read more