Jacob Burke

My client list tells the story of my own love affair with Boston and the surrounding suburbs. I grew up in Needham, summered on the South Shore, went to school in Chestnut Hill, and lived in Beacon Hill and the South End for ten years. As my friends, neighbors, classmates, and colleagues have grown from renting apartments to buying and selling their homes, my career has grown alongside them. What started with just my personal network has evolved to include a robust client list that relies on me for my guidance, patience, and creativity. I routinely help clients past the buying/selling process and onto managing their renovations, renting out their investment properties, or introducing them to friends in their new communities. Having helped find homes for everyone from young families to empty-nesters, I’ve seen that each client’s different needs really make them all the same: they need someone to listen to them, be honest with them, and put their needs ahead of the deal. These are the things I do for my clients because these are the things I care about most.

I started in real estate in the South End where I helped launch our firm’s Dartmouth Street office in 2015, nestled among the South End boutiques and the brownstones where I lived. I was already obsessed with that neighborhood— the city’s best restaurants (sorry, North End), pickup basketball at Peters Park, and gorgeous Victorian architecture. It was thrilling to open our city office and mark a new chapter for the firm. With a foothold in the city, Livingston Harding could offer the suburb/city balance that defined us as a firm, and now as a team at Compass. I quickly zeroed in on the South End/Back Bay to stay nearby as my wife and I started a family, but loved getting to work all over the city and beyond.

When our firm joined Compass’s Back Bay office in 2019, we were able to focus 100% on our clients while collaborating with the industry’s best technology and marketing— not to mention becoming a part of the #1 office in New England in total sales. With the backing of Compass, I’ve been able to develop my own niche, even if that doesn’t fit in any one traditional box. I evolve to meet my clients’ needs while never being afraid to tell it like it is.

Like so many of my clients, as our family grew we moved out of Boston: a short drive from the city we love with enough space for two wild toddlers to run around. We’ve embraced Medfield for its strong community, great schools, and charming downtown. My expertise in the neighborhoods that make this area special sets me apart, from our beloved Medfield’s Hinkley Park to Bird’s Hill in Needham (I actually grew up in the 1755 home of John Bird, for whom the neighborhood is named). It’s been a natural fit to add the Needham-Dover-Westwood-Medfield corridor to my repertoire as I’ve settled back into the area where I grew up.

I graduated from Boston College with a double major in English and Sociology, studying abroad in The Netherlands and Ireland. I was awarded my MA in English from the University of Massachusetts Boston and am a faculty member at two Boston-area universities.

I'm pretty sure the Celtics have recently surpassed the Red Sox in terms of my day-to-day sports obsession, and fall Sundays start by putting on a Patriots jersey and end when I’ve cooked way too much food. Work with me and I’ll even pass along the video of the uppercut that ended my amateur boxing career (but I got back up!).