I highly recommend signing Elke Gerdes as your RE Agent for buying & selling your home - we hired her as our agent for both processes, couldn't have been more pleased & can't sing her praises enough. She is not only extremely experienced & professionally intuitive, she's consistently ON IT! - she's absolutely fantastic with communication, follow-up & appropriately-timed friendly reminders, when needed, which is SO HELPFUL, especially if one has a lot going on in addition to getting their house ready to sell. She's also honest, caring, understanding, easy to work with, and knows how to meet you where you're at in providing needed support - she was so valuable in lovingly keeping me focused on priorities when preparing our home for sale, as I can easily get side-tracked & overwhelmed by non-critical details at times. She's simply the best at what she does. Need an agent? Look no further!
Elke Simmer Gerdes / Realtor - Broker
Elke Simmer Gerdes / Realtor - Broker at a glance
Google reviewers rate this Waterloo, Iowa real estate agent 4.9 out of 5 based on 56 reviews, with the owner responding to 7% of them. Clients frequently describe the agent as professional, knowledgeable, and prompt, highlighting excellent communication, detailed follow-up, and assistance with both buying and selling properties. Many note that the agent helps first-time buyers navigate the process calmly and manages out-of-state transactions effectively, including coordinating showings and preparing homes for sale. The provided excerpts contain no low-star reviews, so no recurring criticisms are evident in this dataset.
- Google rating: 4.9 out of 5 from 56 reviews (98% five-star).
- Reviews on this page: 56 Google reviews (38 with written comments, 1 with photos).
- Owner responses: the business replied to 7% of reviews.
- Most recent review: May 18, 2026.
- Service: Real Estate Developer serving Waterloo, Iowa.
Data from Google, last updated October 29, 2026.
Score profile vs other real estate developers
Score per factor (100 = best)Each factor is scored 0–100 on absolute terms (star average, share of 1–2★ reviews, price verdicts…); standing within the category can only raise it, never lower it.. Strongest: momentum and craft & service; weakest: reliability.
Bar = this company · dark tick = category median.
Star ratings
56 Google reviews we collected
- 5 stars5598%
- 4 stars00%
- 3 stars00%
- 2 stars00%
- 1 star12%
Praise vs complaints
Phrases our text analysis found in 38 written reviews
- Praise63100%
- Complaints00%
Topic share
How often each topic comes up in the written reviews
- Staff & attitude2235%
- Would recommend1524%
- Speed & response914%
- Communication914%
- Quality & results46%
- Price & value23%
- Honesty & trust23%
What customers talk about
We read 38 written reviews and marked every phrase about these topics. The same colors are highlighted in the reviews.
“She is not only extremely experienced & professionally intuitive, she's consistently ON IT!”
“I highly recommend signing Elke Gerdes as your RE Agent for buying & selling your home - we hired her as our agent for both processes, couldn't have b…”
“Elke is professional, responsive, collaborative, and very fun to work with.”
“- she's absolutely fantastic with communication, follow-up & appropriately-timed friendly reminders, when needed, which is SO HELPFUL, especially if o…”
“She was very detail oriented and made it such a smooth transition for our growing family!”
“She listened to our goals for the purchase and sale processes, helped us set affordable and competitive goals, and advocated for us every step of the way.”
“She's also honest, caring, understanding, easy to work with, and knows how to meet you where you're at in providing needed support - she was so valuab…”
People customers mention
- Falls 3 reviews
- Valley 3 reviews
praise complaint · found by our text analysis, Google review wording unchanged.
Recent reviews
I highly recommend signing Elke Gerdes as your RE Agent for buying & selling your home - we hired her as our agent for both processes, couldn't have been more pleased & can't sing her praises enough. She is not only extremely experienced & professionally intuitive, she's consistently ON IT! - she's absolutely…
Elke is really amazing to work with! I don't even think we knew exactly what we were looking for, but she viewed about a million houses with us and helped us find it. It was our first time buying, so she guided us through the process and just went above and beyond to make sure we were taken care of. I'm kind of an…
Elke helped us find our dream home. She was very detail oriented and made it such a smooth transition for our growing family! We are so grateful for her and her expertise….plus answering our thousands of questions!
We have hired Elke for two property sales. Elke is professional, knowledgeable, and prompt. She made everything easy, took care of every detail, and communication was excellent. I wouldn’t consider anyone else.
We have been working with Elke for several years. She is listens to our needs, is attentive, and always anticipates our needs.
Elke is amazing! She found the perfect place for us and I would highly recommend to anyone moving into the Waterloo/Cedar Falls area!
Photos
Customer reviews
4.9 ★★★★★ 56 reviews on Google · rating breakdown
Reviews from Google, shown as published (original wording, unedited).
Great to work with!
Elke is really amazing to work with! I don't even think we knew exactly what we were looking for, but she viewed about a million houses with us and helped us find it. It was our first time buying, so she guided us through the process and just went above and beyond to make sure we were taken care of. I'm kind of an anxious person, and working with her was so grounding. I never felt pressured and she helped me identify what were big things to worry about and what things had easier fixes. She never pushed to go out of our budget, which I've heard happens with other people sometimes. When I got discouraged, she encouraged me that we would find the right one! Just a really wonderful person and really wonderful realtor to work with. And she advocates for you hard! If we ever move, away she's just gonna have to learn real estate there too because I only want to work with her.
Thanks Jamie! If I have to travel to your next location, can you move somewhere warm like Florida, Texas, or maybe Arizona? How hard can the license test be? For you, I would do it :)
Elke helped us find our dream home. She was very detail oriented and made it such a smooth transition for our growing family! We are so grateful for her and her expertise….plus answering our thousands of questions!
We have hired Elke for two property sales. Elke is professional, knowledgeable, and prompt. She made everything easy, took care of every detail, and communication was excellent. I wouldn’t consider anyone else.
We have been working with Elke for several years. She is listens to our needs, is attentive, and always anticipates our needs.
Elke is amazing! She found the perfect place for us and I would highly recommend to anyone moving into the Waterloo/Cedar Falls area!
Absolutely amazing! Would never let us end up in a home that wasn’t perfect for us!
Elke was an absolute saint, she made the house buying process a breeze and would highly recommend her to anyone looking into buying a house. I appreciate everything she did for us and will continue to recommend her to anyone looking into a home.
As we’ve bought and sold over the years, we truly could not have a better realtor and partner in our corner than Elke!!
Thanks Renee! Love working with your family. Hopefully we run into each other downtown soon - or expect that random phone call 😉.
Business details
- Address: 201 Washington St, Cedar Falls, IA 50613
- Phone: (319) 240-3034
- Website: elkegerdes.com
- Service area: Waterloo, IA