To expand [Lota da Povoa de Varzim em 1960 [Wikipedia]](http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:Lota_da_Povoa_de_Varzim_em_1960_2.jpg)

Motoko Rich’s article [Rocking the House to Sell Condos [NYT]](http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/23/garden/23TURF.html?_r=1&ex=1298350800&%20mc=rss&oref=slogin&partner=rssnyt&%20i=5088&%20n=3e2d8cf837b0e4d5&pagewanted=print) explores marketing efforts by The Corcoran Group on behalf of Extell and The Shvo Group on behalf of Leviev Boymelgreen.

For the Avery “Extell is spending more than $500,000 to inaugurate the sale of apartments in the building, due to be completed in the fall of 2007, with a party next Thursday on a strip of grass next to its construction site. Seal will perform there under a tent designed to hold 800 people.”

Disclaimer: I don’t claim to know much about marketing real estate and I don’t do it for a living. I can only offer a layman’s everyday interpretation:

Some thoughts:

  • Lavish spending on an opening launch shows weakness.

  • Potential buyers might be thinking that they are paying for this.

  • It doesn’t attract buyers, just media coverage.

  • It smacks of investor speculation seen in other investor-heavy markets like Miami.

  • Seal? What about Led Zeppelin? 😉

For 20 Pine Street, Boymelgreen will about $200,000 on the part that is partly a benefit for the New York Academy of Art.

Some thoughts:

  • It will attract people that are interested in the arts but how does that translate into sales?

  • How is this a different approach than an open house?

  • How do I get invited? 😉

At the end of the day, I am sure these efforts will move units and generate interest, after all, these are significant marketing efforts and there is a lot of talent and experience found in these real estate consultant/broker firms.

I am only wary of the message it sends to the market: weakness…which is exactly what these efforts are intended to counteract.


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