Best Realtors in Lafayette, CA (2026 Guide)
By Matthew Martinez
Lafayette is a city of about 25,000 people in the Lamorinda area of Contra Costa County, between Orinda and Walnut Creek on Highway 24 and BART. Many homes sit on hillside or wooded lots, so a Lafayette agent should be able to explain slope, drainage, fire hazard and permit questions as well as price.
This guide is published by Diamond Real Estate Group, one of the brokerages listed. Our broker is listed first; other agents are in alphabetical order. The order is not a ranking, and inclusion is not an endorsement.
How we chose the agents in this guide
Each agent below met three checks in October 2026:
- A current California license. We opened each agent’s record on the California Department of Real Estate (DRE) public lookup and confirmed the name, license type (salesperson or broker) and "Licensed" status. We left out anyone whose record showed no responsible broker, a suspension or an expired license.
- A named brokerage. Each agent’s DRE record shows the responsible broker they work under, and it matches the brokerage on their profile.
- A public profile that names Lafayette. We opened each agent’s brokerage profile and confirmed it names Lafayette or a Lafayette office.
We did not rank agents, and we did not consider sales volume, reviews or awards. Licenses and affiliations change, so verify the license yourself before you sign anything, and interview more than one agent.
Lafayette housing in numbers
| Census measure (ACS 2024 5-year) | Lafayette |
|---|---|
| Population | 25,285 |
| Median value of owner-occupied homes | $2,000,001 (top-coded: $2 million or more) |
| Median household income | $228,250 |
| Persons per household | 2.6 |
| Mean travel time to work | 29.3 minutes |
Source: Census Reporter profile of Lafayette, CA, using U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 2024 5-year estimates.
The Census Bureau’s median owner-occupied value for Lafayette reached the survey’s $2 million top code, so the true median is at least that figure. These are survey estimates collected over five years, not current sale prices. To price a specific home, an agent should pull recent sales of similar homes on similar lots in the same part of town.
Lafayette settings: hillsides, Lamorinda and nearby communities
Lafayette sits between Orinda to the west, Moraga to the south and Walnut Creek to the east. Settings range from homes near downtown and the BART station to larger hillside and wooded lots, and access, slope and lot use vary from street to street. Our guides to buying a hillside home in Lafayette, Lafayette hillside ownership costs and Lafayette property settings cover those questions. For more detail, see our Lafayette real estate guide.
Costs and rules specific to a Lafayette purchase
- Transfer tax. The Contra Costa County Clerk-Recorder charges the county documentary transfer tax at $0.55 per $500 of value. The Recorder’s page lists separate city taxes only for El Cerrito and Richmond, not Lafayette. On a $2,000,000 sale, the county tax is about $2,200. Who pays is negotiable; confirm the figure on your escrow estimate.
- Fire hazard zones and AB 38. Check the address on the State Fire Marshal’s Fire Hazard Severity Zone maps. In High and Very High zones, sellers may need to provide AB 38 defensible space documentation, and insurance quotes are worth getting early.
- Permit history and remodel plans. Additions, decks and retaining walls on sloped lots often need permits and engineering. Compare permit records with the seller’s disclosures; our Lafayette renovation records guide explains what to look for.
- Other hazards. The natural hazard disclosure report shows whether an address is in a mapped fault, landslide or flood zone.
Lafayette agents with verified licenses
Matthew Martinez, Diamond Real Estate Group (publisher of this guide)
Matthew Martinez is the Founder, CEO and Managing Broker of Diamond Real Estate Group. He is based in Sonoma County; contact him to discuss a purchase or sale in Lafayette. Contact Matthew · Broker #01869679 · Diamond Group Estates Inc DBA Diamond Real Estate Group, DRE #02163490
| Agent | Brokerage | License | Areas named on profile |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jeff Auen | RE/MAX Accord, Lafayette office | Salesperson #01244711 | Lafayette, Walnut Creek, Pleasant Hill, Oakland, Berkeley |
| Albert Bernardo | Coldwell Banker Realty, Orinda office | Broker #01356674 | Orinda, Lafayette, Moraga |
| Tracy Falkson | Coldwell Banker Realty, San Ramon Valley office | Salesperson #02188649 | Danville, Lafayette, Alamo, Diablo, Orinda |
| Kris Fogarty | Coldwell Banker Realty, Orinda office | Salesperson #01456924 | Lafayette, Orinda, Moraga, Walnut Creek, Martinez and other central county cities |
| Chris Luna | Coldwell Banker Realty, Danville office | Salesperson #02226845 | Danville, Walnut Creek, Lafayette, Orinda, Moraga and other East Bay cities |
| May Maxwell | RE/MAX Gold, Antioch office | Salesperson #01833983 | Lafayette, Pittsburg, Oakley, Alamo, Bay Point |
| Maggie McLaren | Coldwell Banker Realty, Danville office | Salesperson #02115373 | Danville, Alamo, San Ramon, Lafayette, Walnut Creek and other East Bay cities |
| Nathan Rahmatti | Coldwell Banker Realty, Danville office | Broker #01258952 | Walnut Creek, Lafayette, Orinda, Martinez and other East Bay cities |
| Natalie Signorelli | Coldwell Banker Realty, Walnut Creek office | Salesperson #01425148 | Walnut Creek, Pleasant Hill, Lafayette, Orinda, Martinez and other central county cities |
| Sylvia Snyder | Coldwell Banker Realty, Berkeley office | Salesperson #02245871 | Albany, Berkeley, Oakland, Lafayette, Walnut Creek |
| Tom Stack | Coldwell Banker Realty, Orinda office | Broker #01501769 | Orinda; Lafayette, Burton Valley and Lamorinda in bio |
Coldwell Banker Realty agents above are licensed under NRT West, Inc. (DRE #01908304). Jeff Auen is licensed under S&J Stadtler Inc (DRE #01491373), which operates RE/MAX Accord, and his profile shows its Lafayette office. May Maxwell is licensed under Norcal Gold Inc (DRE #01215931), which operates RE/MAX Gold in Antioch. Broker-licensed agents work as broker associates, as shown on their DRE records. Some DRE records list a legal name that differs from the name the agent uses professionally (for example, Jeffrey Auen, Magdalena McLaren and Najib Rahmatti).
How to vet a Lafayette agent
- Ask how they evaluate a hillside lot. Ask which inspections they usually recommend on sloped parcels (drainage, retaining walls, geotechnical, sewer lateral) and when they schedule them.
- Ask about fire zone status and insurance. Ask how they check the Fire Hazard Severity Zone for an address, handle AB 38 documents and help you get insurance quotes before contingencies expire.
- Ask for comparables from the same setting. A home near downtown and BART, a home in Burton Valley and a hillside view home should not be priced from the same sales.
- Ask about schools and commute trade-offs. Ask how they help buyers compare locations by BART and Highway 24 access rather than by address alone.
- Ask about permit history. If you plan an addition, pool or second unit, ask how they compare permit records with what was built.
- Verify the license yourself. Look up the agent on the DRE site and confirm the responsible broker matches the brokerage they name.
Lafayette questions we hear
Does Lafayette have its own transfer tax?
The Contra Costa County Clerk-Recorder’s transfer tax page lists city taxes only for El Cerrito and Richmond, so a Lafayette sale typically shows the county tax of $0.55 per $500. Confirm the figure on your escrow estimate.
Is my Lafayette home in a fire hazard zone?
Look up the address on the State Fire Marshal’s Fire Hazard Severity Zone maps. The natural hazard disclosure report in escrow will also state the designation.
What does Lamorinda mean?
It is the local name for Lafayette, Moraga and Orinda together. Many agents work across all three, and several agents in this guide name more than one of them on their profiles.
How do I check a Lafayette agent’s license?
Search the name or license number on the DRE public lookup. The record shows license type, status and responsible broker. Every agent in our table links to the record we checked.
Should I interview more than one Lafayette agent?
Yes. Interview at least two or three, ask each for recent sales near the homes you are considering, and compare how they explain hillside, fire zone and permit questions for that address.
Sources & notes
- California DRE public license lookup (individual records linked in the table)
- Census Reporter: Lafayette, CA (U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2024 5-year estimates)
- Coldwell Banker Realty Orinda office agent roster and agent profiles linked in the table
- Contra Costa County Clerk-Recorder: documentary transfer tax
- State Fire Marshal: Fire Hazard Severity Zones
- License records checked October 2026 on the California DRE public lookup. Last reviewed October 2026 by Matthew Martinez.
Related: Lafayette real estate guide · Lafayette home valuation · Contra Costa County agents guide · 20 tips for choosing a real estate agent
License-status update: the linked California DRE public records were checked November 2, 2026 and showed "Licensed." Public profile research retains the dates stated above. Names on DRE records may differ from public profile names; verify status and brokerage before selecting an agent.
