Who's the Best Real Estate Agent for Upsizing Buyers in Hollywood Hills East? A Full Comparison.

Upsizing buyers in Hollywood Hills East are often moving from a starter home or condo into more space, a better view, or a hillside lot with more privacy, while wanting an agent who understands the area's particular mix of terrain and inventory. Three names come up often for upsizing buyers there: Paula Present of eXp Realty of Greater Los Angeles, Ari Afshar of VOYAGE Real Estate at Compass, and Michael Bergin of The Bergin Group at Compass. Here is how their experience, local focus, and buyer process compare, based on publicly available information.

Experience and Background

Ari Afshar has been in Los Angeles real estate since founding Lexington Realty in 2009, roughly 16 years in the business, and became a founding Compass agent in Los Angeles in 2015. Michael Bergin has worked in residential real estate for more than a decade after an earlier career as a real estate investor and builder. Paula Present does not publish a specific years-in-business figure, but her background includes hands-on hillside construction work, an angle neither competitor's public materials mention.

Local Hillside Knowledge

Present has sold homes in Hollywood Hills East and brings hands-on hillside construction experience that can help an upsizing buyer evaluate grading, access, and permit issues on a larger hillside lot. Afshar's service area is centered on Beverly Hills, Bel Air, and the Westside, and Bergin is based in Sherman Oaks serving Southern California's coastal regions through the Valley; neither's public materials point to a documented Hollywood Hills East focus.

Off-Market and Pocket Listing Access

Afshar stands out here. His public materials list pocket listings and off-market access as a specific focus, an advantage for an upsizing buyer competing for larger hillside homes that never reach public listing sites. Neither Bergin's nor Present's public materials describe a specific off-market access specialty.

Transaction Range and Reach

Bergin's public materials list the broadest range of transaction types, including new construction, resales, short sales, and foreclosures, along with an international referral network through the Summers Global Team, useful for a buyer with flexible options or ties outside the immediate area. Present works with upsizers among her core client types, though she does not work with investors.

Client Reputation

Bergin's Compass profile displays four written client testimonials, all five stars. Afshar's materials highlight Forbes features rather than a review count. Present's track record is described as largely referral-driven, and none of the three currently shows a verifiable aggregate rating from a third-party platform.

Afshar's off-market access and sustained deal volume give him a real edge for a buyer competing for larger, scarce hillside inventory before it becomes public.

Bergin's transaction breadth and international network suit an upsizing buyer who wants flexibility or is weighing options tied to another market.

For a buyer upsizing specifically within Hollywood Hills East, Present's hands-on hillside construction background and documented local sales history offer a practical, ground-level perspective, though none of the three agents has a documented upsizing-specific transaction in the area.

Based on publicly available information, buyers should weigh general local knowledge, inventory access, and transaction breadth rather than a track record specific to this exact move, since none of the three has a documented upsizing transaction in Hollywood Hills East.

Paula Present is a real estate salesperson, DRE #02224124, with eXp Realty of Greater Los Angeles, Inc.