My name is Alison Derse (pronounced like “mercy’) and I am a real estate agent at The Agency. My love of wide open, green spaces, old homes with charm and character, creative energy, and the totally not over-hyped notion of building community with your neighbors drew my family and I from San Francisco to Portland.
Originally from Los Angeles, I started making my way up north, graduating from UC Davis with honors. From there, I started my career working in Business Development, Partnerships and Marketing for fast-paced, high-growth tech startups like Yelp, Trulia and Instacart in SF. The “wear 10 hats at once” mentality taught me the value of meticulous organization, thorough research, the ability to be nimble, and the experience to be an intuitive and strong communicator and negotiator. And most importantly, it’s taught me the value of relationships.
I represent buyers and sellers of all residential property types throughout the greater Portland, Beaverton and Lake Oswego metros.
I see myself as a real estate advisor and partner rather than a salesperson and pride myself in being able to patiently guide and educate my clients through each step of a transaction using clear and organized processes. My commitment to serving clients with the highest level of integrity and dedication has established me as a trusted source for those seeking honest and informed advice about the real estate market.
My innate ability to build fun and meaningful relationships has led me to real estate. I am a natural matchmaker, I love connecting my community with jobs, relationships and friends. This love of matchmaking has quickly snowballed into an organic career shift. I value the friendships that continue after the keys exchange hands.
These days, when I am not working, I love to cook, entertain friends and family, travel, garden, pilates, Peloton, shop, read, hike and chase my insane kids!
In the last few years, I have done several major renovations to my own home (demo’d a 750 sqft basement and re-imagined the space completely + demo’d two bathrooms and a yard). Needless to say, I can speak to construction from personal experience and am happy to share my lessons learned (there are many) and local resources with my community.
Whether you’re considering a move, a first time home buyer, an investor or selling your home, I’d love to connect and be a strategic resource!