{"version":"1.0","type":"rich","provider_name":"Acast","provider_url":"https://acast.com","height":250,"width":700,"html":"<iframe src=\"https://embed.acast.com/$/6a7a3151c399196b515e6d40/6ad68c9c9c828fecf850d38f?\" frameBorder=\"0\" width=\"700\" height=\"250\"></iframe>","title":"The CEO who got her property start measuring houses | Sarah Wood ","thumbnail_width":200,"thumbnail_height":200,"thumbnail_url":"https://open-images.acast.com/shows/6a7a3151c399196b515e6d40/1792453369319-87280cf8-70d1-4d01-b8eb-7fa2cb5319a1.jpeg?height=200","description":"<p>Sarah Wood’s first job in property was holding the other end of the tape measure while her dad, a property valuer, measured up houses by hand. Property was what got talked about around the kitchen table, in the countryside villa her parents renovated.</p><p><br></p><p>This time the tables are turned. The CEO of realestate.co.nz takes the guest seat opposite Vanessa Williams, who jokes that interviewing her boss could be a career-limiting move. Sarah talks about a Laura Ashley bedroom where everything matched, working in her dad’s valuation business at 17, and the little Remuera house she bought with her husband after ten years of flatting, the first place where she could close the door and keep the outside world out.</p><p><br></p><p>She also owns up to a competitive streak she didn’t notice until she was 20, the push to launch AI image search first, and a Spotify age of 21. As realestate.co.nz turns 30, it’s a chance to hear where the person leading it started.</p><p><br></p><p><strong>Highlights</strong></p><p><br></p><ul><li>Her dad was a property valuer, and back when it was all done manually Sarah held the other end of the tape measure. At 17 she worked in his valuation business, collecting debtors and tidying up reports before heading to university in Auckland.</li><li>Her bedroom at five was Laura Ashley from wallpaper to curtains to cushions, maroon and white with flowers, all matching. “I like a bit of consistency,” she says.</li><li>After ten years of flatting, including a big Epsom villa full of flatmates and fun in 1996, the year realestate.co.nz launched, she and her husband bought a three-bedroom weatherboard in Remuera. It was sunny and quiet, and it was theirs.</li><li>She didn’t realise she was competitive until she was 20 years old. At work that shows up as wanting to be first, which most recently included leading the team to launch AI image search before their competitors, a tool she’s since used to help a friend with finding a rental property to buy in Taupō with lake views.</li></ul><p><br></p><p><strong>Timestamps </strong></p><p><br></p><p>[00:44] Turning the tables: Vanessa interviews her boss</p><p>[01:08] A matching Laura Ashley bedroom and a childhood on the farm</p><p>[03:18] Holding the tape measure for her valuer dad, plus a fairy photo shoot</p><p>[05:06] The Remuera house that was finally theirs</p><p>[06:15] Becoming CEO, and being told she’s not the CEO at home</p><p>[08:35] 1996, a competitive streak and being first with AI image search</p><p>[15:56] A Spotify age of 21 and what tells her she’s home</p><p>[18:37] Advice to her younger self and the Lotto house</p><p><br></p><p><strong>Guest bio </strong></p><p><br></p><p>Sarah Wood is the CEO of realestate.co.nz, New Zealand’s longest-standing property portal, running since 1996, before Google even existed. Today it connects millions of Kiwis with homes, rentals and commercial spaces every month, and she’s leading its move into AI-powered property search. She is a regular commentator on the property market and the economic conditions shaping it, including the Official Cash Rate (OCR) and what each decision means for buyers and sellers.</p><p><br></p><p><strong>Host bio </strong></p><p><br></p><p>Vanessa Williams is General Manager – Customer at realestate.co.nz, New Zealand’s longest-standing property portal. She’s one of two voices behind The New Zealand Property Report, realestate.co.nz’s monthly read on the market, alternating as spokesperson with CEO Sarah Wood, and she’s the resident property expert on Frances Cook’s Making Cents podcast. With more than a decade at the company, she’s known for translating realestate.co.nz’s own listings, stock and price data into practical guidance for buyers, sellers and renters.</p><p><br></p><p>If Sarah’s tape measure took you back to the house you grew up in, follow It all starts here wherever you get your podcasts.</p>","author_name":"realestate.co.nz"}