Tess Salter

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Tess Salter

Tess Salter

Tess Salter

REALTOR®

License number

01999389
Mobile number
(650) 678-3847
Email
[email protected]
Address

1440 Chapin Ave., #200, Burlingame, CA 94010

Tess Salter is a top-ranked real estate agent in San Mateo County and a key leader of the Sternsmith Group, known for her exceptional negotiation skills, client-first approach, and record of delivering outstanding results. Tess has helped clients buy and sell homes across San Mateo, Burlingame, Hillsborough, Belmont, San Carlos, Redwood Shores, Redwood City, San Bruno, Millbrae, South San Francisco, Bay Meadows, Menlo Park, and Foster City. She specializes in single-family homes, condominiums, townhomes, luxury estates, and investment properties.

With over 10 years of experience, Tess has sold 71 homes in San Mateo County in 2025 and helped 61 buyers and sellers achieve over $125M in sales in 2024, according to RealTrends. Since 2015, Tess and her partner Casey Sternsmith have closed $1.3B+ in total sales, ranking them among the top 5 agents in San Mateo County and the #1 agents in San Mateo for seven consecutive years.

Tess was recognized by Gentry Magazine as one of the Top 10 Agents Under 40 in 2020, and the Sternsmith Group has been nationally recognized on The Leading 100 for the past seven years, celebrating the top-performing real estate teams in the San Francisco Peninsula.

Tess is known for her expertise in off-market listings, pre-market preparation, luxury marketing strategies, and customized property-specific marketing. She leverages Compass’ advanced technology, social media, and Facebook/Instagram Live tours to maximize exposure and deliver top results. With a strong foundation in finance, accounting, and economics, Tess provides data-driven insights that help clients make strategic real estate decisions.

Outside of real estate, Tess is deeply committed to her community. She served as PARCA Auxiliary President (2024–2025), continues on the PARCA Board (2019–2025), volunteers in Hillsborough schools, served on the West Elementary School Site Council, and chairs the Relay for Life for the American Cancer Society.

With 150+ five-star reviews and a reputation for integrity, responsiveness, and personalized service, Tess Salter and the Sternsmith Group provide exceptional guidance, strategic marketing, and unparalleled support for anyone buying or selling in San Mateo County, Burlingame, Hillsborough, and surrounding Peninsula neighborhoods.

Tess Salter

REALTOR®

License number

01999389
Mobile number
(650) 678-3847
Email
[email protected]
Address

1440 Chapin Ave., #200, Burlingame, CA 94010

What Tess's Clients Say

Tess was wonderful. I could not be more pleased with her and her team. From the selling perspective, she was calming, kept my wife and I on schedule, provided valuable input/feedback, and we could not have been as successful as we were selling our home without her, set a neighborhood record. From a buyer perspective it is uncanny how well she captured what my wife and I valued in a new home - not to mention how quickly she responded and schedu...

~ David & Nui
What Tess's Clients Say

We had an outstanding experience working with Tess in both buying and selling our home, especially during the height of COVID times. She was extremely responsive, ensured proper safety measures (for both our family and potential buyers entering our home), and provided great advice throughout the entire process. Additionally, she had very helpful renovation connections which we are currently using. We give Tess our highest recommendation and wo...

~ The IP Family
What Tess's Clients Say

We met Tess at an open house before we were ready to buy. She acknowledged that and left it open to us to reach out when we were ready. I really appreciated her integrity and ethics in not pressuring us or adding us to any mailing lists. A year later - when we were ready to buy - Zillow randomly reconnected us. It was awesome because I already felt comfortable with her and trusted her be honest. She helped us find a beautiful house and made th...

~ Ilana & Yirav
What Tess's Clients Say

When my wife and I decided to look for a property in the peninsula we got a few Realtor® recommendations from some friends and had narrowed our search to two other Realtors®. Before we had made a decision we went to visit a property that Tess happened to be selling. Tess approached us and introduced herself, we started talking, and we just clicked. She just radiated positivity, charisma, excitement and a honest interest in helping her clients....

~ Carlos
What Tess's Clients Say

We met Tess through an introduction from a couple of close friends. My fiancee and I are first time homeowners, and Tess took special care to make our buying experience as painless and as enjoyable as possible! She was a complete professional every step of the way, was flexible with our pace and worked hard to find a place that checked off all the boxes for us. It was clear that Tess was incredibly well connected; she showed suitable listings ...

~ Eric & Celia
What Tess's Clients Say

When it came time to sell our family home we reached out to Tess and Casey from the Sternsmith Group. They presented us with a detailed plan to update our property into the best condition possible for sale along with a timeline. It was clear that they brought the perfect mix of resources and expertise to get the job done. They managed the entire process and executed their plan flawlessly with a warm caring persona. Tess and Casey were ways ava...

~ Phil, Hillsborough Seller
What Tess's Clients Say

We are truly fortunate to have placed our confidence and trust with the Sternsmith team of professionals. From our initial meeting through the entire home selling process Tess Salter and her team provided stellar end-to-end customer experience and project management services. During our initial meetings, Tess listened carefully and captured every detail of our requirements and unique situation. Tess quickly gained our trust and confidence as s...

~ The Barretts
What Tess's Clients Say

When we first met Tess and Casey, we will never forget them saying that they are here to help us find our "dream home". After searching for the past 3 years, we thought that would be impossible. Tess was always very honest and upfront with us every step of the way. After taking us to look at a few homes, she knew exactly what we had wanted. When we saw a house that we wanted to see, she immediately took us to see it on that same day it went on...

~ Dean & Jessica
What Tess's Clients Say

Tess helped us close a house 2 months ago. Buying a home is hard in the Bay Area, but she is always positive and cheerful! She is a joy to work with and I would highly recommend her and her team.

~ Kat & Brad
What Tess's Clients Say

Look no further than Tess Salter and Casey Sternsmith for real estate professionals. My husband and I were extremely happy with the service and expertise they provided. Tess and Casey were always available for questions, incredibly pleasant to work with and exceeded our expectations with the sale of our house. They took care of all inspections and prep, never pushed us to do something we didn't want to do and kept us in the loop along the se...

~ Mary & Gary Ellison
What Tess's Clients Say

Premier agents! We began the search for our home during the pandemic when nothing felt certain in the housing market. Casey and Tess gave us the hope we needed with their encouraging attitudes and sincerest advice. This duo is proactive, quick, and well-versed in the housing market even in the most unpredictable times. We never felt like it was just another sale for them and rather truly felt their investment in finding a home for our family. ...

~ Steve & Janelle
What Tess's Clients Say

We worked with Tess for over a year to find our home and she was a delight to work with. She paid attention to the characteristics of our dream home and time and time again, had us looking at homes fitting our criteria. She was really attentive to our war stories from visiting numerous open houses and incorporating our feedback into future neighborhoods and homes to consider. For our third offer, Tess really went to bat for us in the back-and-...

~ Sarah & Jonathan
What Tess's Clients Say

A friend of ours recommended Tess & Casey to us and we found them to be very friendly & professional. Tess brought her people in to do some needed changes to our house, Their knowledge of the market is extensive and their suggestions and advice we’re right on point. They were very accessible and responsive, returning our calls and answering any questions that we had in a timely manner. We would highly recommend Tess & Casey to anyone selling a...

~ Jim & Stacey
What Tess's Clients Say

We were introduced to Tess and Casey at the Sternsmith Group when we were just in the beginning steps of looking for a home but found that again and again, they were the listing agents for open houses in the Bay Meadows area of San Mateo which we loved. When we were finally ready to get serious, they were the first professionals we reached out to and they did not let us down. They added value at every step of the process: deeply understanding ...

~ Buyer, San Mateo
What Tess's Clients Say

We recommend that you contact Tess Salter if you’re looking to purchase or sell your home. We've just completed working with Tess on the purchase of our new home and, to put it succinctly, – she exceeded our expectations! Tess is a great listener and immediately understood what we were looking for in a home. She locked on to our requirements! Tess deftly guided us throughout the entire process. She's on top of the market and is very responsi...

~ Margie & Marty
What Tess's Clients Say

Tess is very resourceful and knows literally everybody in the area! She is not afraid of telling the client what is realistic and what is not. We were able to focus on what is most important and were able to move very quickly once we found our ideal house. I like her cheerful but very straightforward manner:) It was pleasant to work with her!

~ Yumika & Bill
What Tess's Clients Say

Tess Salter and Casey Sternsmith are awesome real estate agents. They are professional, truthful, honest and friendly. They are very knowledgeable on the dynamic real estate market and will give you talk straight. They work tirelessly to complete the tasks at hand and meet all deadlines, smoothly as clockwork. They have a large network of contractors at their call who do great work at very competitive prices. We were 200 miles away while Tess ...

~ Don
What Tess's Clients Say

We've known Tess for a few years as we have thought about selling our home. As we hired Tess for the listing, everything went so smoothly and just had an overall fantastic experience. Really was a full, white-glove service, where she helped us move out, get things fixed, got the listing up and running in a good timeframe, and advised us as offers came in. Simply a 5-star experience, and we would highly recommend it. We were happy with the outc...

~ Amit & Priya
What Tess's Clients Say

Casey and Tess helped us sold our home at Bay Meadows at record time, with multiple offers & a good final selling price. As you'd expect with any home sale, they were a couple of complications which they smoothed out for us. We seem to have put the house on the market at the worst time - one weekend before Thanksgiving. Despite the tight schedule, they helped us prepped for the home showings, gave us expert advises, and we managed to got sev...

~ Paul & Teresa
What Tess's Clients Say

Tess is incredible at what she does and made our first home-buying experience so enjoyable! We met Tess early on in our search and appreciated her knowledge of the market, patience with walking us through each step of the process, and expertise in helping us smoothly secure an off-market home. Once our bid was accepted, Tess had a phenomenal network of all-star professionals to guide us through escrow, mortgage loans, etc. It’s so clear from e...

~ Amy & Sebastian
What Tess's Clients Say

We first met Tess at a beautifully staged open house in San Carlos while we were browsing listings we found online. From the moment we met her, she was warm, and friendly and it was easy to chat with her about the home she was showing as well as what we were looking for. We have been through the home purchasing process before with another reputable agent, and while this particular house wasn't what we were looking for, we had a really great fe...

~ Caroline & Tony
What Tess's Clients Say

We highly recommend Tess and her team. With a tight timeline to sell our home, she nailed every aspect from prepping the house, scheduling her best stager, and marketing our home to her vast network internally and via social. With her expertise, we set a record comp for our neighborhood! She is extremely organized, responsive and knowledgeable. We appreciated her input/feedback and calm demeanor throughout what can be a stressful process. As a...

~ Cindy
What Tess's Clients Say

Tess is a true gem! She represented us as both a buyer agent and seller agent (we bought in 2017 and sold in 2022). She is an amazing person and truly on your side! She is thorough and knowledgeable and client-centric. Tess really made the selling process so seamless and took charge. She takes care of her clients. We also recommended her to friends who had her represent them in the buying and selling process and they share the same view. Tess ...

~ Luong Kim Family
What Tess's Clients Say

We contacted Tess upon friends' referral. On the day we met, we knew we would be working with her and our search for a Realtor® was over. We clicked instantly. Her warm and honest attitude along with her professional approach immediately creates an environment full of trust and honesty. During our search she was very proactive. She quickly got in touch with other agents, piled the information and shared with us adding her personal feedback in...

~ Semih & Bilge
What Tess's Clients Say

Tess was fantastic throughout the process. We're first-time home owners and she was patient and helpful the entire way. She answered our many questions and provided great local knowledge and guidance. Perhaps most importantly, she leveraged her relationships to put us in the most competitive position possible. Our offer was accepted the day before the house was supposed to go on market because Tess knew the selling agent well. We would highly ...

~ Jason & Katerina
What Tess's Clients Say

Highly recommend. Tess is a phenomenal Realtor® and such a pleasure to work with. We first met with Tess to discuss what we wanted and within less than a month, she had helped us find exactly what we were looking for. We wrote 1 offer and thanks to Tess and her team, we closed earlier than expected. What really makes Tess special is how much she truly cares about her clients. She took the time to help us understand each step of the process, wa...

~ Tyler & Devon
What Tess's Clients Say

Worked with Tess and Casey to buy and sell our homes. They are true professionals. They understand the local market and really know how to set your home up for success - the staging, advertising, photography, videography, and open events - they organize it all. Initially, i wasn't a fan of staging but once I saw the results, I was blown away. Our purchase was complex owing to some small issues with the home - Tess went out of her way to come u...

~ Julie & Chris
What Tess's Clients Say

Tess was an absolute rockstar as our Realtor®! She was hard-working, and thorough, and displayed an exceptional level of expertise and mastery of her field. It was reassuring to have her by our side through the house-buying process. Not only did I know for certain that she would dot every I and cross every T, I was also put at ease by her positive and optimistic demeanor. Without Tess we never would have landed in our current home, which is no...

~ Lanam Family
What Tess's Clients Say

Working with Tess exceeded our expectations of the home buying process; she's very observant, respectful, and just made the entire process light and enjoyable. On our first day of working Tess, she selected a handful of different homes within the peninsula, and gave us a tour of each neighborhood, noting what we liked and didn't like. By the second day of our home tour, she already knew the type of homes that we were drawn to, and what was imp...

~ Mimi & John
What Tess's Clients Say

Tess was great to work with. She helped educate us on the areas, even gently guiding us to a location we hadn’t really considered, but which ended up being a perfect fit for us. As we visited homes, she always managed to point out important factors to consider, without offering too strong of an opinion, allowing us to form our own thoughts in an informed way. When it came time to buy, she helped us craft a competitive offer and used her relati...

~ Mike & Yutiing
What Tess's Clients Say

My wife and I came across Tess Salter at an open house and we immediately knew this was the agent we wanted representing us. Tess is well connected in the Peninsula real estate community and has a vast network that benefits buyers and sellers equally. Tess became our best friend as we navigated our search and purchase. Tess communicated often and clearly, took the time to help us understand each step and answered all our endless questions. She...

~ Phil & Lisa
What Tess's Clients Say

Needing to sell my Dad’s home, I noticed the house 2 doors down just sold. So I called the Realtors® listed Casey Sternsmith and Tess Salter, they just sold the house for record price and multiple offers. I talked to one of the neighbor’s across the street and they said the open house was nonstop cars of people looking at the house. Hoping for the same results I called Casey and Tess, they gave me an impressive marketing plan that included soc...

~ The Kunst Family
What Tess's Clients Say

We went with Tess to help us sell our primary home in Palo Alto during a tight economy with rising mortgage rates and she delivered as our home sold within 10 days, above listing, and with multiple offers! Our house is on a busy street, we had concerns that it would take some time to sell but she exceeded our expectations and more. Tess went above and beyond with her attention to detail in preparing the house, impeccable staging and hosting op...

~ Tony & Caroline

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