'My Sharona' shares her knack for celebrity real estate in a recession

If you want to know how the celebrity real estate market is faring in this Great Recession, who better to ask than a mini-celebrity herself?

Sharona Alperin was only 17 when The Knack's song "My Sharona" shot straight to the top of the Billboard charts -- and became a pop music classic. Knack leader Doug Fieger, who had a crush on the teenager, co-wrote the song about Sharona before she was old enough to vote or drink.

"Is it really the 30th year anniversary of 'My Sharona' coming out?" Alperin said when reached in Los Angeles, where she works as a real estate agent for Sotheby's. "Oh my God! You're absolutely right. I'm not sure that I realized that. I talk to Doug quite often and we never discussed it." (The two remain good friends to this day; Alperin and her husband Jason have a 10-year-old daughter and 6-year-old son.)

Today, Alperin sells homes to all sorts of Hollywood A-listers we can't name here. (Trust us, rock stars and movie idols populate her lengthy list of clients.) Here, she talks about how the Recession has changed the real estate game, even for the entertainment elite -- and what it's like to be celebrated in song.

WalletPop: So what is it like, exactly, to be immortalized in a timeless pop music hit?