If I had to summarize the CIPS designation course in a single word, I would say, “rich.” The program is rich with content, the content is rich in relevance to today’s market, and the course delivers just the kind of insight that is likely to make CIPS designees… well… rich! In July I was invited to attend the CIPS Invitational Course in Chicago. It was an exciting weeklong event with more than 40 real estate professionals from all over the world coming together to network and expand their knowledge of the international market place. I learned a lot, I made friends with some of the industry’s international movers and shakers, and I left feeling excited about ListHub’s new partnership with the N.A.R and the CIPS designation.
I had the opportunity to take the first two modules over two days of classes and experience first-hand the value that the CIPS designation offers. If I had known how rich it was going to be, I would have planned to participate all week. The course content covered a comprehensive range of topics to help Realtors navigate international business including currency and exchange rate issues, cross-cultural relationships, tax issues, and much more. Critical stuff in today’s global marketplace!
Ron Phipps, former President of the National Association of REALTORS® was the instructor for the Invitational course. Ron has been a leader for our industry in uncovering the international opportunities in the U.S. real estate market, so it was a real treat to learn from his experience first-hand. Ron is an impressive leader; His passion and knowledge filled the room with energy and excitement about the opportunity that exists for those who are prepared to work with international clients.
One of the courses, Asia/Pacific and International Real Estate, focuses on valuable insights and skills for working with the growing number of Asian investors looking to purchase property here in the United States and around the world. The Chinese are the fastest-growing group of property buyers and investors in the U.S. and accounted for nearly 20% of international sales, according to NAR’s 2014 Profile of International Home Buying Activity. The course offered tips for developing a business network with Asian clients.
As we know, there are many challenges in working with Asian buyers, one being how to market your listings to them, particularly with China’s strict Internet regulations. That is why we partnered with NAR to pair CIPS designees up with our ListHub Global product in order to advertise their listings on the leading real estate website in China, Fang.com (formerly SouFun).
All ListHub Global brokerage customers have the opportunity to provide deep discounts (about 25% off!) on the online version of the CIPS training course for all of their agents. That means your agents get all the benefit of the CIPS content, and access from the comfort of their own desk. Based on my experience in Chicago with the CIPS team, I am thrilled to be offering this opportunity and I wanted to let you all know how excited I am about it. If you’re a global customer, please share this information with your agents today! If you’re not, Click here to learn more about ListHub Global or email ListHub at info@listhub.com.
Thank you to my friends at the National Association of REALTORS® and CIPS for inviting me to this great event. We look forward to working together to bring the right mix of international marketing combined with international business expertise to agents across the nation.
About Celeste Starchild
VP and General Manager of ListHub
Celeste is a recognized pioneer in real estate technology services, with over 15 years in leadership positions in new product development, business development, sales, and marketing. She has been part of the ListHub executive management team since 2006. Since its inception, Celeste has played an instrumental role in guiding the company’s strategy and paving a path for growth. Today ListHub is a core platform for the real estate industry that powers online marketing for more than 52,000 brokerage firms nationwide.
During her career in real estate, Celeste has focused on transforming new technology ideas into leading products that increase brokerage efficiency, such as online transaction management software (SettlementRoom, Inc.) and security products that protect real estate data (Clareity Security).
Celeste is passionate about helping real estate brokerage firms to develop business advantages through technology.
Celeste has a bachelor of science in psychology and sociology. She lives and works in Alexandria, VA.