Reality Real Estate

by Nicole Weston (RSS feed)
May 21st 2006 at 7:03PM

A marketing director in Santa Clarita, California has a new take on how to sell a house. To give the houses in a new development a "lived-in" feel, she has hired a group of actors to play house while prospective buyers come out and tour the property. "Mom," "Dad" and their two "kids" bake scones, celebrate a birthday party and play games, interacting with each other and with any guests who wish to play along or ask questions. It's "reality" real estate and the program has been dubbed "Home Life." Many of the guests who toured the house when it opened were actual realtors, not looking to buy the house, but to see how appealing having a "family" would be to clients.

As one visitor from USC's business school put it, "You imagine yourself in this situation. If you have a beautiful experience, that gets people to think, oh, I want to live like that!" The model family was as appealing, if not more so, than the home itself. It's easy to see how clients, perhaps used to watching reality shows on television, could relate quickly to a similar scenario that confronts them in real life.

Since the setup had immediate appeal to buyers and realtors alike. This could be the start of a new real estate trend, particularly with upmarket estates and in new developments, where houses might look less lived in because of their newness or their size.

Tags: homes, real estate, reality, realtor, sales, sell, selling, trend

Filed under: Estates

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Jason May 21st 2006 9:18PM

That is the worst idea I have ever heard.

Ken May 22nd 2006 5:19PM

That is the stupidest thing ever!!!

If you have ever gone house hunting, you know the last thing in the world you want to anyone but yourself (and family, wife, etc.) and YOUR real estate agent there. Having the sellers agent or the seller there is NOT good. When we sold our house, we would leave before the clients showed up and return when they left.

If you were smart, the home will be well-furnished (to show off the rooms best) and very clean, but not have any people in it!

PDQ May 22nd 2006 9:12PM

Reality family, huh? So does that mean that the son and daughter are arguing over whose turn it is to take out the trash and do the dishes? Does that mean that Buster, the Rotweiller/Doberman mix will be tearing up the backyard while Fluffy the cat sprays the furniture to mark it's territory? Will the daughter be gabbing incessantly about nothing on the phone....any phone....while the son sends text messages on his cell phone? Dad of course will be drinking beer and watching ESPN on the 50" plasma with the surround sound, ignoring everyone and everything.

Yeah.....that's what I want to see when I look for a house!