Time to come home

Time to come home

Sarah is a full-time Realtor in the inner East Bay.

Sarah is a full-time realtor in the inner East Bay.

Focused, devoted and talented, she takes exquisite care of her clients.

Sarah is in the top 1% in sales volume of agents in the inner East Bay.

Sarah is in the top 1% in sales volume of agents in the inner East Bay.

$200m+
IN SALES
170
HOMES SOLD
95+
5-STAR YELP REVIEWS
1000
RELATIONSHIPS BUILT
$200m+
IN SALES
170
HOMES SOLD
95+
5-STAR YELP REVIEWS
1000
RELATIONSHIPS BUILT

Meet Sarah Ridge

Sarah is a 5th generation East Bay local with widespread connections and knowledge of the communities she has lived in. Born and schooled in Oakland she later moved to Albany where she and her contractor husband raised 4 children. As a top-producing agent, she sold over $50 million in real estate in 2021 and consistently ranks in the top 30 agents in the area…

What do realtors actually do?

What do realtors actually do?

I want to cut to the chase here. The world of real estate is as different around the country as any other trade. The expectations of services provided and knowledge base vary wildly and like most things, the local customs of a given area set the paradigm. I think these anecdotes speak volumes: 
 
This year I had a listing for a couple moving to the east coast. As I was prepping their Oakland home it became clear in our conversations that they were having a profoundly different experience with their NY purchase compared to their experience with me. The level of assurance, involvement and answers given to my clients was radically different …

Family business is our family business

Family business
is our family business

I work in partnership with my daughter, Ellie Ridge. Ellie brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the craft of home buying and selling. Having bought, sold, and renovated multiple properties in the Bay Area, Ellie brings a passion for design, remodel, and helping first-time home buyers position themselves to invest and build wealth with real estate. Through hard-won personal experience she’s mastered the strategy of getting into the “starter home”. Her strategy and drive is an advantage to my clients, and I’m delighted to have her contribution to my practice. Though my clients will always work with me personally, and communicate chiefly with me, Ellie is my right hand and will be present to assist and weigh-in. We are able to work even more efficiently when we partner (truly, we are greater than the sum of our parts), and for my clients it means that both more of my time and attention is available to them, as well as the focus and care of a second agent.

HOME IS WHERE THE HEART IS.

What my Clients say...

What my
Clients say...

SEE MY 80+
5-STAR YELP REVIEWS

See my 80+
5-star Yelp reviews

Sarahs Tips

Find my useful information about home buying in the East Bay

Sarahs
Tips

FIND MY USEFUL INFORMATION ABOUT HOME BUYING IN THE EAST BAY

My Properties

I work with both buyers and sellers in approximately equal proportions. See some of the properties that I have sold over the years.

My
Properties

I WORK WITH BOTH BUYERS AND SELLERS IN APPROXIMATELY EQUAL PROPORTIONS. SEE SOME OF THE PROPERTIES THAT I HAVE SOLD OVER THE YEARS.

Work with Me

If you’re interested in speaking, please request your complimentary consultation. Let’s talk about your goals, your questions and discuss the best path forward for you.

Sarah is a 5th generation East Bay local with widespread connections and knowledge of the communities she has lived in. Born and schooled in Oakland she later moved to Albany where she and her contractor husband raised 4 children. As a top-producing agent, she sold over $50 million in real estate in 2021 and consistently ranks in the top 30 agents in the area.

She splits her efforts between buyers and sellers, finding that maintaining current knowledge of both sides of the transaction gives her real-world insight and immensely improves the outcome for her clients.

From the first meeting onward she is teaching and her passion for educating her clients is apparent in the many reviews and referrals she receives. Doggedly determined to pass along her knowledge of structures, home improvement, design, and strategy she is seemingly limitless in the time and energy she shares with her clients. Knowing that trust is at the core of a positive outcome she fosters strong bonds with her clients and colleagues and has found that humor is the best remedy for what can be an intense experience for both buyers and sellers. Sarah’s clients stay in her life for many years after the escrow closes and she likes it that way!

Sarah has a wide breadth of life experience that culminated in her chosen career in real estate. Married for almost 30 years to her contractor husband she has absorbed tremendous knowledge of the construction trades while running his business. Prior to that she and her mother ran her Grandmother’s company The Body Shop, a Bay Area landmark that operated in an eco-fashion long before that was the style. Along the way she dabbled in landscape design and doula work – both areas of interest to this day. Her four children bring her tremendous joy and range in age from 26 to 14. All of this life experience, from construction to gardening, birth work to retail business seems a custom fit for assisting buyers and sellers in the massive life transition of home sales. Sarah derives deep satisfaction in being useful to others, finding that life’s meaning is derived from this one simple act.

Sarah is a 5th generation East Bay local with widespread connections and knowledge of the communities she has lived in. Born and schooled in Oakland she later moved to Albany where she and her contractor husband raised 4 children. As a top-producing agent, she sold over $50 million in real estate in 2021 and consistently ranks in the top 30 agents in the area.

She splits her efforts between buyers and sellers, finding that maintaining current knowledge of both sides of the transaction gives her real-world insight and immensely improves the outcome for her clients.

From the first meeting onward she is teaching and her passion for educating her clients is apparent in the many reviews and referrals she receives. Doggedly determined to pass along her knowledge of structures, home improvement, design, and strategy she is seemingly limitless in the time and energy she shares with her clients. Knowing that trust is at the core of a positive outcome she fosters strong bonds with her clients and colleagues and has found that humor is the best remedy for what can be an intense experience for both buyers and sellers. Sarah’s clients stay in her life for many years after the escrow closes and she likes it that way!

Sarah has a wide breadth of life experience that culminated in her chosen career in real estate. Married for almost 30 years to her contractor husband she has absorbed tremendous knowledge of the construction trades while running his business. Prior to that she and her mother ran her Grandmother’s company The Body Shop, a Bay Area landmark that operated in an eco-fashion long before that was the style. Along the way she dabbled in landscape design and doula work – both areas of interest to this day. Her four children bring her tremendous joy and range in age from 26 to 14. All of this life experience, from construction to gardening, birth work to retail business seems a custom fit for assisting buyers and sellers in the massive life transition of home sales. Sarah derives deep satisfaction in being useful to others, finding that life’s meaning is derived from this one simple act.

I want to cut to the chase here. The world of real estate is as different around the country as any other trade. The expectations of services provided and knowledge base vary wildly and like most things, the local customs of a given area set the paradigm. I think these anecdotes speak volumes: 

This year I had a listing for a couple moving to the east coast. As I was prepping their Oakland home it became clear in our conversations that they were having a profoundly different experience with their NY purchase compared to their experience with me. The level of assurance, involvement and answers given to my clients was radically different from how I worked with them. My clients, comparing the two experiences they were having were really noticing how informed they felt working with me and how in the dark they felt with the representation back east. I don’t believe anything was wrong with the care they received back east, I believe that the pressure and intensity simply isn’t as profound in rural communities. Here in the Inner East Bay the standard of care involves collaboration, articulated solutions for anticipated problems and a clear strategy presented and implemented in advance.

The other anecdote was from an agent in Kansas who called me asking if I could help her client who owned an investment property in El Cerrito. She and I had a wonderful conversation swapping stories about how our markets worked. On her end it was important to understand the issues that come up in many rural communities; water rights, bridge condition, private vs public roads and responsibility for maintenance. She also knew who was who on each little road and helped her clients understand where they wanted to live and why, noting what potential conflicts could come up between neighbors. We had the same reaction listening to each other, “I could never work in your market, my knowledge would be useless there!”

Our market is competitive and our limited inventory comprises very old homes. The onus is on me to present homes beautifully with inspection reports that are trusted by the top agents in the market. I know exactly what that expectation looks like, the cost to get there, the contractors to do the work, the timing to come on the market, the best and most compelling way to answer the questions agents ask and how to negotiate to bring offers up to match the seller’s expectations. For my buying clients, I know who to call for special inspections, how to recognize problems in a home that the inspector may or may not have alluded to, which homes will hold value, which won’t and why, who all the other top agents are and how they tend to advise their clients and how to win without overshooting it. My job involves contract law, negotiations, liens, easements, appraisals and lenders (and all the surprises and problems that arise there), construction, codes, permits, and rental laws, design, color theory, how to get the most out a home with a remodel or addition, neighbors and rules, fences and trees, the economy, the political climate, interpersonal dynamics and how to sooth them.

In our Inner East Bay market, realtors who sell homes at the level that I do are some of the most multi-dimensional, talented and hard working people I know. I am proud to be one of them. 

I want to cut to the chase here. The world of real estate is as different around the country as any other trade. The expectations of services provided and knowledge base vary wildly and like most things, the local customs of a given area set the paradigm. I think these anecdotes speak volumes: 

This year I had a listing for a couple moving to the east coast. As I was prepping their Oakland home it became clear in our conversations that they were having a profoundly different experience with their NY purchase compared to their experience with me. The level of assurance, involvement and answers given to my clients was radically different from how I worked with them. My clients, comparing the two experiences they were having were really noticing how informed they felt working with me and how in the dark they felt with the representation back east. I don’t believe anything was wrong with the care they received back east, I believe that the pressure and intensity simply isn’t as profound in rural communities. Here in the Inner East Bay the standard of care involves collaboration, articulated solutions for anticipated problems and a clear strategy presented and implemented in advance.

The other anecdote was from an agent in Kansas who called me asking if I could help her client who owned an investment property in El Cerrito. She and I had a wonderful conversation swapping stories about how our markets worked. On her end it was important to understand the issues that come up in many rural communities; water rights, bridge condition, private vs public roads and responsibility for maintenance. She also knew who was who on each little road and helped her clients understand where they wanted to live and why, noting what potential conflicts could come up between neighbors. We had the same reaction listening to each other, “I could never work in your market, my knowledge would be useless there!”

Our market is competitive and our limited inventory comprises very old homes. The onus is on me to present homes beautifully with inspection reports that are trusted by the top agents in the market. I know exactly what that expectation looks like, the cost to get there, the contractors to do the work, the timing to come on the market, the best and most compelling way to answer the questions agents ask and how to negotiate to bring offers up to match the seller’s expectations. For my buying clients, I know who to call for special inspections, how to recognize problems in a home that the inspector may or may not have alluded to, which homes will hold value, which won’t and why, who all the other top agents are and how they tend to advise their clients and how to win without overshooting it. My job involves contract law, negotiations, liens, easements, appraisals and lenders (and all the surprises and problems that arise there), construction, codes, permits, and rental laws, design, color theory, how to get the most out a home with a remodel or addition, neighbors and rules, fences and trees, the economy, the political climate, interpersonal dynamics and how to sooth them.

In our Inner East Bay market, realtors who sell homes at the level that I do are some of the most multi-dimensional, talented and hard working people I know. I am proud to be one of them.