Inman Connect NYC 2023

Inman NYC 2023 Conference Recap

What has stayed the same, and what will change in 2023?

Inman Connect NYC - my favorite real estate conference just wrapped up in NYC. It is where Industry visionaries & entrepreneurs reflect on what happened in the past year and what they believe is coming next. New challenges? New opportunities? New models? It is also where agents, brokers, executives, tech and finance professionals and investors gather to learn, share, and forge essential relationships. I have made many connections that were pivotal to my career here in midtown Manhattan over the years thanks to this conference. 

This year Brad Inman, Laura Monroe and the rest of the Inman Team delivered an action-packed lineup of interesting fireside chats, inspiring presentations, and engaging content. Conference highlights included 75+ sessions, 250+ speakers, networking opportunities galore and new connections. Thanks to all the Inman Ambassadors for keeping things running smoothly!

Most of the conversations centered around strategies and tactics for staying competitive in this complicated, rapidly evolving real estate market and industry and priorities for 2023.

It is always a pleasure to see Katie Kossev open the general sessions and moderate panels - I have a sweet spot for Texas girls, being one myself ;) 

Brad Inman delivered a light and uplifting speech with a beautiful backdrop of technicolored metamorphosing butterflies representing that “this is the year to transform your business, your technology and yourself”. He followed it with some life advice that I think resonated with most of the audience. I think living in Paris has given him a certain “je ne sais quoi”!

I enjoyed hearing Jordan Cohen of Remax talk about his entrepreneurial journey. He made me laugh - that guy has some comedy chops!  Anthony Lamacchia (with his iconic smile) shared important tips on what brokers should evaluate when looking to at their P & L in a down market and other ways to “Crush it in RE”.  Lance Custen - CEO of Realty announced a huge partnership with EXP and discussed tips for database integrity, lead generation strategy. My fellow EXPer Levi Lascsak presented to a PACKED room on Top YouTube Strategies and content creation. I even got a picture and got to chat briefly with the Founder and CEO of The Agency (and TV personality), Mauricio Umansky about what we are both doing to disrupt the industry in 2023!

Robert Reffkin did a good job answering soft balls. It led to many off the record conversations at the after parties about whether what his company is experiencing is a sign of a dying business model OR the aftermath of over zealous spending & expansion during advantageous market. Time will tell. 

Lots on PropTech - leaders from across real estate and outside the industry shared their predictions on AI.

Clelia Peters (that girl has quite the resume!) moderated a panel on where the economy, interest rates, consumer behavior changes and investments are headed in the year to come. I enjoyed hearing the perspectives and predictions from Chen Zhao, the  Economist from Redin, Tamir Poleg of Real and venture capitalist Nate Levin of Parker89. It seems the consensus is there might be a recession looming, but the real estate market is normalizing post COVID and by no means headed for a crash like in 2008.

Brad Inman had a conversation on the main stage with Glenn Sanford - Chairman, CEO & Founder - eXp World Holdings - which centered around how leaders prioritize what matters most. Brad pointed out that Glenn’s empathy, innovation, humanity (and Cspan nerdiness) have played integral roles in the decisions and strategies of organizations in challenging times and leading EXP through this economic cycle. 

I feel like this was the “year of the woman” for me at Inman. Not sure if others felt that way. But the Woman Up Meet UP put on by Debra Trappen was PACKED - it was so good to see my long time Inman buddies -  Sarita Dua, Stacey Soleil, Karen Stone, Amy Chorew, Katie Lance & Molly McKinley. 

There were so many amazing and talented queens claiming their thrones! Dana Cadena, Amy Sommerville, Clelia Peters and Kendall Bonner moderated panels of top agents sharing the tips, strategies, and secrets of success. Kathy Helbig-Strick one of my co-authors of “Women Who Boss Up in Real Estate” was on stage sharing her wisdom on how to face a shifting market. Sheena Saydam discussed her successful business model that is rooted in giving back to her community.

Chelsea Pietz and Social Media coach Giselle Ugarte offered up a quick hitting masterclasses on all things “new” to Instagram. They unpacked the pros and cons of the new recommendation instagram algorithm and lit the fire for us to all up our game.  Giselle moderated a great panel with Matt leonetti, Glenda Baker & Tyler Whitman where they all had some great points as they talked about authenticity in marketing.

Loved the contributions from the Place Team -  Ben Kinney, Chris Suarez, Chris Stuart, Trish Reinert, Vija Williams and Michael Schuerman. Ben stressed the importance of keeping the momentum going in a shifting market. He shared his best advice for future proofing your business and not letting fear of the uncertainty paralyze you. His team put together an amazing series of multi-session learning labs over the two days. The Teams panels moderated by Vija Williams were amazing. Debra Beagle, Michael Perna, Jonathan Spears, Spring Bentzen, Jeannette Spinelli... opened their playbooks and shared strategies on how to tackle productivity and changes they are making in this challenging market.  Jeff Lobb moderated an amazing conversation with two team leaders I truly admire -  Veronica Figueroa and Michael Hern. They touched on their biggest challenges around growth, production, and lead generation.  Chris Suarez’ speech “Today is Day One” talk on the main stage was amazing!

Jon Cheplak was pure fire as usual. He reminded us to “Go out and EXECUTE!” He reminded us that we are not in the real estate business, we are in the execution and enrollment business. “Execute on the proven plan and you will enroll plenty to your movement.” Get back to the basics” 

I enjoyed attending sessions with new and old friends - Jennifer Anderson from San Diego, Gabriela Aparicio, Banna Fakhoury, Ben Garrison, Amy Paternite, Tracy Freeman and of course, my fellow Jersey girl - Claudia Inoa - who even recorded her podcast live from the conference - talk about dedication!  It was nice to see former President and NCJAR Realtor of the year for 2022 - Bill Flagg as well as my colleague Ramon Casaus who is doing big things with EXP in Arizona!  Was good to see my friend Sam DeBord - CEO at Real Estate Standards Organization (RESO)  who I had not seen since the Inman Snowmageddon. 

I enjoyed the post Nasdaq Bell ringing party for EXP World Holdings on Tuesday and even made it to the tail end of the beautiful global luxury real estate party that Realm founders Julie Faupel and Brennan Buckley hosted at the Waldorf Astoria Towers! 

I learned that every year, people are just there to become versions of themselves and it has been an amazing experience watching everyone’s journey over the years. Thank you all for your contributions.

And that’s a wrap! What can I say? It was another great Inman NYC! (though the one in 2015 during the NYC Snowmageddon Storm tops them all. I wrote about that one here on my "Active Rain" blog back in the day (Ben Kinney should get a kick out of that one!): "Who Needs Brad Pitt, When You Ca Have Brad Inman!"

You can check out all the photos on my Facebook post or Reel here.