Residential Real Estate Broker's 56-Hour Open House Yields No Sale But Plenty of Buzz

In a slow real estate market, Realtor Jim Mazziotti took a chance on an unlikely promotion, hosting a round-the-clock open house.

(Boonton, NJ, February 1, 2010) — In a difficult market, Oregon broker Jim Mazziotti decided on an effective way to build buzz around a listing. He staged a 56-hour open house, streamed the event live to the Internet, and even trained the camera on himself as he slept.

Mazziotti tells readers of industry newsletter, Real Estate Broker's Insider, that the stunt yielded three offers, one of which was accepted but later fell apart for lack of financing.

But Mazziotti, owner of 20-agent Exit Realty Bend in Bend, OR, says he doesn't measure the event's success by whether a deal closed.

"The main purpose of the event was never about selling the house," he says. "It was a team-building exercise."

Mazziotti's agents came to the open house and put on Internet seminars. 200 buyers visited the open house, and some ended up working with Mazziotti's agents on other properties. And 2,000 people tuned in for parts of the webcast on Ustream.tv.

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