The skills that win in this market aren’t taught in real estate school.
You’ve probably spent more time researching your last car purchase than you have vetting your real estate agent.
That’s not a criticism — it’s just how it works. Most people assume that a license, some Zillow reviews, and a nice headshot are enough to go on. And in a normal market, maybe that’s fine.
The Bay Area is not a normal market.
In a market where the median home price far exceeds $1 million, where multiple offers are the norm rather than the exception, and where the difference between winning and losing a home often comes down to strategy, preparation, and execution — who you hire matters enormously. Not just their track record. Their actual skills.
In a market where the median home price far exceeds $1 million, where multiple offers are the norm rather than the exception, and where the difference between winning and losing a home often comes down to strategy, preparation, and execution — who you hire matters enormously. Not just their track record. Their actual skills.
Here’s what most buyers and sellers don’t think to ask: What did this person do before real estate? And does any of that make them better at this?
In my case, the answer is yes. Before I sold a single home in the Bay Area, I spent two years teaching special education in inner-city Los Angeles through Teach For America, getting my Masters in Education along the way. I then went on to build and run a global team at Uber. The skills I developed in those roles show up in how I work with clients every single day — and they directly affect your outcome.
Let me explain what I mean.
Most buyers lose before they ever write an offer. Here's why.
In the Bay Area, the buyers who lose consistently aren’t losing because of price. They’re losing because they weren’t prepared to move with clarity and confidence when the right home appeared.
They didn’t fully understand how the market prices. They weren’t sure what a competitive offer actually looked like. They hesitated at the wrong moment. And / or they wrote an offer that, on paper, looked fine — but structurally, wasn’t positioned to win.
This is a preparation problem. And it’s entirely solvable.
Teaching is teaching. The subject just changed.
Teaching special education taught me that how you teach matters as much as what you teach. Some people learn by hearing it explained. Some need to see it visually. Some need to walk through it step by step before something clicks. A good teacher figures out what type of learner you are — and then doesn’t move on until you actually understand the concepts at hand.
Before we ever tour a property together, I spend a lot of time making sure you understand how this market prices, what winning offers look like, and how to read a competitive situation clearly. By the time we write an offer, you shouldn’t be caught by surprises. You should understand exactly what you’re doing – and why.
On average, I write 1.5 offers for my buyers before they win (aka get into contract). The Bay Area market average is between 4 and 5. That gap isn’t luck — it’s preparation. The work happens before the offer goes in.
Patience is not optional. It's the job.
If you’re thinking about buying in the Bay Area and you feel overwhelmed, uncertain, or like everyone else in the room knows something you don’t — that’s an incredibly common feeling. And it’s one of the main reasons buyers stay stuck.
The discomfort isn’t a sign that you’re not ready. It’s a sign that no one has taken the time to actually teach you how this works.
Patience and empathy aren’t soft skills in real estate — they’re strategic ones. A client who doesn’t fully understand what they’re doing will hesitate at the wrong moment, second-guess a strong offer, or make an emotionally reactive decision under pressure. That costs you homes. Sometimes it costs you the right home.
My job isn’t just to find you a house and write an offer. It’s to make sure you feel genuinely prepared so that when the moment comes, you move with confidence instead of anxiety.
That’s a different kind of agent. And in this market, it makes a measurable difference.
Teaching students with learning differences means you never get to assume someone is “just not getting it” and move on. You have to sit with the discomfort alongside them, figure out where the understanding broke down, and find a different way in. I bring that same commitment to patience and empathy into real estate. If something isn’t clicking, we don’t move forward until it does. In a market this unforgiving, that patience isn’t a courtesy — it’s protection.
It always starts with motivation.
Here’s something that separates average real estate experiences from exceptional ones: the best agents understand that you’re not just buying a home. You’re navigating a life moment.
Maybe you just got a promotion and you can now afford what you’ve been dreaming about (as long as the commute makes sense)! Maybe you’re starting a family and having more space matters much more than it did before. Maybe you’ve been renting in the Bay Area for years and you’re finally ready to stop watching equity build for someone else.
Whatever the reason, it shapes everything — what neighborhoods make sense, what timeline is realistic, what tradeoffs are actually acceptable to you. If your agent doesn’t understand your real motivation (and priorities), they can’t give you real guidance.
This applies to the other side of the table too. On every deal, I’m also working to understand what the seller actually needs — not just the price, but also their timeline, their concerns, their preferences. The best offers I’ve written aren’t always the highest ones. They’re the ones that understood what would actually move the seller to say yes.
Understanding motivation — on both sides — is how deals get made. It’s also how you avoid overpaying, wasting time on the wrong properties, or losing to a competing offer that cost less but was structured smarter.
In special education, understanding my kids’ motivation was the number one priority. My students had to work harder than their peers just to keep up, and most of them would have just given up if I hadn’t taken the time to understand what they cared about and connect the learning to that. If you don’t understand what drives someone, everything that follows is less effective. I’ve never stopped doing that work. Whether I’m helping a buyer figure out what they actually need in a home or reading the other side of a deal to understand what will make them say yes, it always starts with motivation.
Real estate is a team sport. So is special education.
Most buyers are surprised by how many people are involved in getting a Bay Area transaction to the finish line.
On the buy side alone, you’re typically coordinating with your lender, the listing agent, the seller, escrow, and sometimes a co-buyer or family member helping with the financing. Each one has a role. Each one needs timely, accurate information. When communication breaks down anywhere in that chain — and in very fast-moving deals, it easily can — the whole deal becomes at risk.
On the sell side, the complexity starts even before the home hits the market. Getting a property positioned to sell well means coordinating painters, contractors, stagers, inspectors, cleaners, and photographers — often on a timeline measured in days, not months. One delayed handoff can push your launch date, cost you momentum, and put you in a weaker position before buyers ever walk through the door.
Teaching special education required exactly this kind of operational discipline. Every student I worked with had a team around them — general education teachers, parents, therapists, administrators — and it was my job to keep all of them aligned toward the same goal, even when I wasn’t in the room. Communication had to be airtight. Nothing could fall through the cracks.
I run transactions the same way. You should never have to chase me for an update. The people on the other side of your deal should always know they’re working with someone organized, professional, and reliable. Deals don’t fall apart because of price — they fall apart because of execution. I’ve seen it happen. I take that seriously.
So what does this actually mean for you?
If you’re buying or selling in the Bay Area, here’s the honest truth: the outcome is largely decided before your offer is even written.
It’s decided by how prepared you are, how well your offer is positioned, how clearly your agent has communicated with every stakeholder involved, and how deeply they understand what you — and the other side — actually need.
The agent you choose doesn’t just affect your experience. She / He affects your result.
I work with a small number of clients at a time because that’s the only way to do this right. My clients get a real estate education, not just a transaction. They understand the market, feel confident in the process, and — more often than not — win.
If you’re thinking about buying or selling in the Bay Area, I’d love to talk. Not to pitch you. Just to understand your situation and tell you honestly whether I think I can help.
That’s where every good outcome starts.
Blakely Hull is the founder of Best Coast Collective, a top Bay Area real estate team with Engel & Völkers, serving buyers and sellers across San Francisco, the East Bay, Marin, and the Peninsula.
📩 Let’s talk:
blakely@thebestcoastcollective.com
(415) 410-3455
thebestcoastcollective.com
