Prominent industry expert Rick Sharga has departed Carrington Mortgage Holdings after less than two years to join online real estate auction platform Auction.com as the company’s chief spokesman and executive vice president.
Sharga became executive vice president at Carrington in October 2011, after seven years in a similar position at foreclosure data aggregator RealtyTrac. Carrington owns and operates multiple companies that invest in and service mortgages, and provide real estate brokerage, property management and settlement services.
Irvine, Calif.-based Auction.com, which says it is the world’s largest online real estate marketplace, connects buyers and sellers of foreclosures, commercial properties, homes and land. Sharga will serve as the company’s public face on topics such as the U.S. housing market, the mortgage market, commercial real estate and international real estate, the company said.
Rick Sharga
Sharga is frequently quoted in news outlets on real estate, mortgage and foreclosure trends, and has briefed government organizations such as the Federal Reserve and the Senate Banking Committee and corporations such as JPMorgan Chase, Citibank and Deutsche Bank on those topics. He has also done foreclosure training for real estate franchisors such as Re/Max, Prudential and Keller Williams.
“During his career, Rick has served as an expert commentator on the real estate industry and led marketing efforts for Fortune 500 companies,” said Jake Seid, co-president of Auction.com, in a statement.
“His knowledge of and ability to speak authoritatively about the trends that are driving our business will help to deepen understanding of the ways in which Auction.com can better serve the needs of commercial and residential buyers and sellers through our innovative online marketplace.”
In a statement, Sharga noted that the Internet is “fundamentally changing” the process of buying and selling real estate.
“Auction.com presents a unique opportunity for me, as it is the perfect intersection of my career experience and a company that is harnessing the power of technology, efficiency and transparency to define a future that will better serve buyers and sellers,” he said.
Earlier this year, Inman News named Sharga one of the 100 Most Influential Real Estate Leaders of 2013.
In other personnel change-ups, Luxembourg-based online residential real estate marketplace Hubzu has hired Philip P. Felice, previously the managing vice president of Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate. Felice will lead the sales strategy for Hubzu’s Direct to Broker program as its national sales director. In addition, Jonathan E. Dees and Laurence J. Tamkin have been named regional sales managers.
Online real estate portal and marketing technology company HomeFinder.com has named Kevin Iverson as its vice president of technology. Iverson will spearhead the company’s digital strategy and continue to enhance HomeFinder.com’s real estate agent and consumer user experience, the company said. Iverson was most recently the co-founder and chief technology officer of online dating startup Dateable LLC.
