Celeste Starchild, vice president of sales and marketing for ListHub, a part of real estate tech company Threewide Corp., will speak at the upcoming Real Estate Connect conference in New York City. The conference will run from Jan. 7-9, 2009.
Starchild responded to a set of questions posed by Inman News:
What do you see happening in the real estate market in 2009?
Competition will be fierce for everyone involved in real estate, and we will see continued rapid consolidation in the industry.
What advice do you have to help real estate agents and brokers get through this market?
Creativity is key. I am hearing brokers talking about truly innovative ways to offload expenses and generate new revenue. It’s time to challenge all of our assumptions.
What made you join your current company?
I joined Threewide Corp. because I believe connectivity, data management abilities and integrations are among the most valuable resources in our industry.
What’s been your biggest challenge in your business?
My biggest challenge has been in educating brokers and agents as they transition their habits into effective new strategies for making advertising decisions in the online world.
Can you share any future plans, goals?
Soon agents will be able to purchase enhanced listings from the same dashboard where they control their listings distribution and measure the results.
What lesson did you learn in the last year?
If I travel more than half the time my dog will stop speaking to me.
What would your second career choice be and why?
I still want to be a rock star. Why? Fame, fortune.
What is the biggest problem in the real estate market today, and how would you fix it?
The mortgage industry is our biggest problem. If I knew how to fix it, I would probably have run for president.
What do you most enjoy about working in the real estate industry?
Real estate is an industry where innovation, integrity and creative thinking are rewarded with success, and every day I have the opportunity to work with individuals who exemplify this.
Tell us something we don’t already know about you …
I began college as a painting major.
Hear ListHub’s Celeste Starchild speak during a "Seize New Markets" session at the Inman News Real Estate Connect conference in New York City, which runs from Jan. 7-9, 2009. She will be joined on stage by representatives for Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate LLC, Halstead Property and SphereXX.com.
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