Real Estate Gals - Seattle, Washington

Joshua R.

We Feel Like We Won the Lottery—Twice!

My husband and I first discovered the Real Estate Gals while searching for a rental home. We had just decided to sell our condo and knew we didn’t want to live there during renovations or sale —a decision made easy after reading countless horror stories of people who tried.

Then, we found the listing. It seemed almost too good to be true—an incredible home in one of the best parts of West Seattle. I immediately started Googling the listing agent, Johnine, and was blown away. Not only did she have glowing reviews, but she and her team also give back to the community, supporting organizations I personally donate to and love. That sealed the deal.

The rental was a unique situation—it was set to be rebuilt in the future—but for us, it was perfect. We didn’t want to be locked into a long lease while searching for our own single-family home. It was the first place we applied to (out of hundreds we had seen online), and we got it. My husband jokes that I said, “We’ll take it!” before we even walked through the door. (For the record, I waited at least two minutes!)

As a landlord, Johnine was amazing—responsive, fair, and she treated us like family. The rent and deposit were reasonable, and we loved the extra space and huge backyard. After years in condos and apartments, it felt like we had hit the jackpot.

Living there gave us a taste of single-family home life, which made us even more excited to find our forever home. When the time came, we knew Real Estate Gals were the right team to help us. Our agent who helped with our condo sale was great but we just felt like the stars aligned and had to explore that. Johnine re-introduced us to her business partner, Tonya, and from the start, she had the same warmth and dedication. When we had to travel South for a family health issue, Tonya went above and beyond—sending us video tours of potential homes without us even asking. It was a great and surprise distraction from everything going on at the time. She was always professional, always kind, and always had quick answers to our (many) questions.

In the end, we found an amazing home—just a few houses down from our rental! Tonya negotiated a fantastic price, we worked with their recommended lenders, and we closed in under 3 weeks. It was the first house we put an offer on, and after a year-long journey, it felt surreal to land so close to where it all began.

I cannot recommend Johnine Larsen and Tonya Spivey enough. They are not just phenomenal real estate agents—they are incredible people who truly care. They never made us feel like a number, and to be honest... our budget was on the lower end. Instead, they treated us like family.

At the end of it all, we walked away not only with our dream home but with lifelong friends. And honestly? That’s the real jackpot.

Marian E.

We had a fantastic experience with the Real Estate Gals team. We originally met with Johnine and she spent a lot of time touring houses with us and had great knowledge about specific areas. We ended up taking a year long break from house hunting, then reached out again and this time was connected with Tonya as our primary realtor. She was amazing - was so accommodating of our schedule and always pointed out the cons in a property so we could make an informed decision. She spent a lot of time scouting out houses alone and sending us videos, so we could determine if we wanted to take the time to see them in person. We closed on a house recently and really appreciated her timely communication and detailed answers to all our questions.

David K.

I first met Johnine in 1999 when I set out to buy my first home. I recall that in our first meeting Johnine told me: “For us, this business is mostly about building relationships.” I was naturally skeptical, but as time went on, I began to see that this was true. I have been particularly impressed by the integrity and honesty shown by the Real Estate Gals. Back in 1999, Johnine, along with her partner Gail, patiently showed me numerous houses over a period of a few months, which allowed me to hone in on my price point and figure out the neighborhoods best suited to me. When I finally walked into a 1924 Craftsman that really fit the bill, Johnine went into action, crafting an offer that was accepted and allowed me to buy a home that I really loved. I liked it so much that I stayed in the home for 25 years, during which time I gradually restored and remodeled it. When my life brought me to the point where I decided to leave Seattle and sell my home, I couldn’t have asked for a more professional, strategic, highly organized and thoughtful approach to getting the maximal sale price - which absolutely worked !! We received a dream price for our home. And I must say, the slogan “We do more” seems absolutely true. The Real Estate Gals arranged an independent home inspection then acted as the “general contractor” for fixing the items found on the checklist (at rates lower than I would pay if I arranged the work myself, using companies that did good work and were highly responsive to their requests). This approach served to assure potential buyers that the home was in good working order and that they could safely forego a home inspection. The Real Estate Gals then arranged to have the house professionally cleaned, staged and photographed, and they subsequently arranged multiple open houses and individual viewings. The result was that in less than one week we had 6 offers - all for substantially more than the asking price. I recommend the Real Estates Gals in the highest possible terms!

Louise C.

Selling out little craftsman home after 47 years was a difficult decision both emotionally and physically. But, having the expertise, compassion and knowledge base of Johnine Larsen and her Real Estate Gals Team, helped us every step of the way. From making the hard decision to sell, looking for a condo and putting our home up for sale, we received thoughtful guidance, reassurance and a wealth of information. Johnine and her team are the very best and gave us the confidence we needed to get through this huge transition. It was a great decision and more importantly a positive experience with a great outcome. We now have a beautiful new condo and sold our expertly staged home quickly and above listing price. Thank you Johnine and your wonderful colleagues.

Katerina E.

I recently bought a house and Penny West was our real estate agent - she was so sweet, knowledgeable, helpful, and overall amazing. We had an instant connection and she understood the type of house and area our family needed. She was so efficient in scheduling tours for us and always available for questions and changes to schedule - she was so flexible and always had a great attitude. When we finally settled on a house, the seller was actually pretty difficult and uncommunicative, but Penny took initiative and got us the answers we needed and advocated for us at every turn. I am so happy that we met Penny and she worked with us in our house purchase, I do not think the experience would have been as nice or as pleasant without her, I highly recommend her and her team!

Namtran V.

I would never trust the Real Estate Gals to represent me. I reached out to Tonya on Friday to express interest and readiness to submit an offer on a property she listed. She replied to me and said the sellers will be honoring their offer review date on Monday. The house went pending on Saturday night. While I have no issues that someone else submitted an offer, Tonya failed to contact me and my agent to let us know that was the issue. She stated she FORGOT because she was busy doing personal things that day and working from her phone. We were ready to submit a more competitive offer than what was accepted, so ultimately she lost her client money at the end of the day.

Michael R.

We had a fantastic experience working with the Real Estate Gals to buy our first home in Seattle! Johnine and Tonya met with us before the pandemic and remained super patient and helpful with us as we went hot/cold on whether or not to buy *several times* over the past few years. When we finally found the home we eventually bought, Tonya's help, advice, and feedback were all invaluable to us. She was also super responsive to calls and texts, and was just great to work with in general! Hopefully we won't be looking for a new house again soon, but we will absolutely go back to the Real Estate Gals when we do!

Vicky M.

Johnine of the Real Estate gals was so fantastic to work with. She was patient and thorough and answered all of our questions no matter what time of day. She is dedicated to finding the house that you really want and fits your sensibilities. We
would not hesitate to recommend the Real Estate Gals and definitely recommend Johnine.