Sarah Ridge, Realtor - Berkeley, California

Jared R. Johnson

Sarah helped us find the right home and really did guide us through the whole journey. Having bought real estate outside California previously, I thought already knew enough. California, and Bay Area specifically are so unique in real estate and Sarah helped us navigate that expertly. We had unrealistic expectations about what we could get for our money, and would have been stuck making offers that got rejected without Sarah’s help. Sarah helped us be competitive with our offers with her strategies. We probably saw 20 houses with Sarah. She would look at the foundation, electrical, etc. and help us understand the work involved (ex: do we need to update knob & tube wiring? Is the foundation modern or retrofit?) She could answer questions that saved us so much time, which most real estate agents wouldn’t be able to answer. She really understands the way that Bay Area homes are built and has a large network of people to do work on the home if needed, which saved us even more time. Sarah is the fourth real estate agent I’ve worked with, having bought and sold twice before working with her — my feeling is that she makes the other agents feel like door openers and paperwork do-ers, while she is a true real estate advisor.

Natasha Miller

We loved working with Sarah to buy our first Bay Area home! Sarah was recommended to us by both friends and family. We previously owned a condo in Chicago, and learning the Bay Area market along with the older house nuances was a real learning curve for us, and from the start, Sarah was so knowledgeable and patient. She guided us through two years of seeing homes until we finally found the right one for us. We learned so much from her about foundations, knob and tube, chimneys, plaster, ventilation, the list goes on! And in our two years working together, we never felt rushed. She even brought her husband Nick (a seasoned contractor) to some of the houses to give his opinion on the conditions and work that might be needed which felt like an extra bonus. We sincerely recommend Sarah for anyone’s real estate needs in the crazy Bay Area market and while we’re happy we finally found our home, we’ll miss seeing Sarah :)!

Nick Hawley

Sarah was the best of the best. We could not have asked for someone more incredible to help us get our first home. We had a particularly challenging situation. She navigated it like a breeze and helped us feel confident throughout the transaction. She is one of the best professionals I have ever worked with in any industry over the course of my adult life. I cannot recommend her more highly and what I can say doesn't even begin to describe how phenomenal she was. THANK YOU SARAH!!!

Arjun K

Buying a home in Berkeley in today’s market is no joke, and we are so glad we found Sarah to help us navigate these choppy waters successfully.

We came to Sarah looking for change after months of frustration and several failed offers that felt like shots in the dark without a coherent strategy. We had clear ideas on what we were looking for in our next agent, and had planned to interview several realtors before making our decision, but one meeting with Sarah was all it took to let us know we had found the right person! She listened to what we were looking for, asked detailed questions and was able to articulate a strategy that we felt confident in. She was insistent on visiting houses together so we could talk openly about specific pluses and minuses and she could continue to build out a refined sense of our needs and wants. We really came to trust her judgment, and in a short amount of time she almost knew what we were looking for better than we ourselves did.

But of course, there is the reality of the Berkeley housing market – limited availability, houses with multiple offers selling well beyond list price, no contingencies (ha!) and so on – and this is where her exceptional knowledge of the area, deep relationships with sellers agents and in-depth knowledge of construction and home inspection issues really came through. We would review listings together, and she was uncanny in her ability to predict final sale price time after time – and she was able to articulate reasons based on location, nature of buyers for the neighborhood, specifics of the home condition, her familiarity with the sellers agent etc, so it did not feel like guesswork. Each of these visits and discussions allowed us to feel more confident in her approach and strategy.

When we finally found a house we liked enough to make an offer on, Sarah made several visits to the house with us, pointed out things we should be focused on, reviewed all the disclosures and reports in detail and really helped us establish expectations for a winning bid. She was confident that there would be multiple offers, and had a strategy to make sure our first offer was compelling enough to receive a call back – and this was based not only on her analytics, but also on her ability to leverage relationships and to understand the dynamics of potential agents we could be going up against. As expected, the house had multiple offers and Sarah expertly guided us through the counter process to get us our dream home.

While this was not our first time buying a house, the market dynamics were definitely challenging and I cannot imagine we would have been successful without Sarah’s exceptional abilities to guide us. Sarah is a pleasure to work with, and we would highly (highly!) recommend her to anyone.

Meli Musson

Working with Sarah during our recent home purchase journey was an exceptionally positive experience. Sarah is someone who stands by her clients and has a tremendous expertise in the market, construction, and the nuances of the home buying process. Even though we were at the lower end of budgets of clients that Sarah works with, she gave us more than 110% to find the right home and see the process though, even when working with a challenging rent-back purchase setup.

Sarah's in-depth market knowledge made the process feel so much more accessible -- with everything from understanding the nuances of how real estate in the east bay is priced, to details about city history, taxes and regulations, to general quality of the buildings and what to keep our eyes on, it was invaluable help that made navigating a really unique market feel a lot more manageable.

Coming from a family with a background in construction, Sarah also brought a unique perspective to the table and would jump in to take a look at wires, drainage and plaster walls and always have her eyes out for things to ask for in inspection reports. She expertly guided us to focus on the most crucial aspects of a property, ensuring that we were going to make a sound investment and knew if there were any impending updates a home might need.

Sarah's strong local connections were also invaluable. She facilitated efficient inspections and more, making the entire process seamless and straightforward.

We can't recommend Sarah highly enough to anyone looking to purchase in the east bay. Her expertise, insights, and positive attitude make her someone you want to spend time looking at homes with, and her expertise and experience ensured a really high quality, professional, stress-free experience when the time came to close. She is really someone that goes above and beyond and was a total joy to work with!

Steven Scatina

Sarah Ridge and the team at District Homes did an amazing job selling our Berkeley home. Her experience in the market was clear and her guidance was invaluable. It truly felt like she wanted the very best for us and the result was amazing.

Sarah helped us through the whole process of updating the home and getting it ready for market. Her communication and skill as an agent ultimately got us 13 amazing offers and sold for 50% over our asking price. I can’t recommend Sarah and the whole team at District Homes enough.

Chris Walker

Buying a home can be an overwhelming process, especially when you're looking for the perfect fit for your family. But we had a great experience working with Sarah.

From our very first meeting, Sarah impressed us with their deep knowledge of the real estate market. She guided us through every step in our journey, from understanding our needs to getting us the keys to our new home. Her guidance not only made us feel secure in our decisions but also enlightened us about aspects of home buying we hadn't considered before.

Sarah is highly professional, knowledgable, and fun to work with. She helped us through negotiation and closing all the way through.

We highly recommend Sarah!

Abishek Wilson

Can't say enough good things about Sarah - we've worked with her on 2 homes (as buyers and sellers) during very different market conditions. We trusted her judgement on everything from list price, upgrades / repairs, timing, offer structure , negotiations etc. and couldn't be happier with the results. She is very knowledgeable about the East Bay, has great attention to detail and was particularly insightful about structural issues that saved us a ton of issues later on. Highly recommend working with Sarah - she is a consummate professional !