According to the Wall Street Journal realtors are pimpin’ houses today like never before:
Welcome to the open-house on steroids. Home-baked cookies are out. Designer drinks, opera singers and Cinco-de-Mayo theme parties are in. Despite sluggish home sales in most of the country, some Realtors and developers are sinking money into open-house parties that they hope will draw crowds — and an eventual buyer.
Realtors have always tried various tactics to make homes more appealing during open houses by, for example, hiring experts to “stage” the home, arranging furniture and accessories to look stylish and inviting. These days, while some Realtors and developers have abandoned or scaled back on open houses, others see swanky and creative parties key to capturing sales.
Without a doubt, provide free drinks and music and the house is gonna be rockin’ but there’s one problem: nobody’s knockin’ (aka, buyin’).
Today’s new home sales numbers were atrocious:
Sales of new homes plunged in March to the lowest level in 16 1/2 years as housing slumped further at the start of the spring sales season. The median price of a new home compared to a year ago fell by the largest amount in nearly four decades.
I imagine most realtors throwing these open house bashes can sympathize with Billy Ray Valentine:
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NzxSNcNAEWQ&hl=en]Sources:
Drinks? DJs? See Realtor Inside
Sara Schaefer Munoz
The Wall Street Journal
New home sales plunge to lowest level in 16 1/2 years
Martin Crutsinger
Associated Press