New Broker Gimmick: Throw a Party, Sell the Place

The booze at the open bar pours out faster than the music from the loudspeakers. Even the simplest items on the menu have impossible-to-pronounce names. And those are just the hors d’oeuvres.Go ahead, be bold and stroll around the room — if movement is even a remote possibility. You might bump into Calvin Klein, John Legend, or the A-list celebrity of the moment.This is the place to be tonight, but only for tonight. Much like Cinderella’s inevitable transformation, at the end of the ball, the trendy setting will be revealed for what it once was: nothing more than a real estate sales office.“People are holding events at spaces that are on the market to expose the property to the echelon of buyer that the marketing team wants to see,” a vice president of the Corcoran Group, Wendy Maitland, said.As luxury condominiums shoot up in every corner of the city, efforts of that team become that much more Herculean. In order to attract attention to their living spaces, developers, brokers, and real estate marketing firms now host shindigs in listed properties and sometimes even sales galleries.“Two years ago, you didn’t have to throw a party,” the president and CEO of Core Development Group, Josh Guberman, said. “You could open your doors and sell 19 apartments.”But an increasingly competitive field has created an entirely new ballgame. If there is one lesson to be learned from today’s market, it’s that plans for promotion are never too premature. Often, strategies are in effect before a project’s first brick is even laid.In September, the Sheldrake Organization hosted the premiere party for the film “All the King’s Men” and the launch of Verdant magazine at its newest development, the Riverhouse. Because occupancy is expected in 2008, construction is not even near completion; both events were held at the nearby but off-site sales gallery.“It’s definitely developing beyond the product itself,” the design principal of architectural firm Perkins Eastman, Eran Chen, said of the overall trend.For any host, the risks are few. “An event is not successful when people team up with brands that won’t bring them the right clientele,” the founder of SHVO Marketing, Michael Shvo, said. But as long as business interests are aligned, he adds, “most buildings will provide the space for free.”“In some cases, developers will pay for some of the expenses,” which can include anything from catering costs to rearranging the room, Ms. Maitland said.Fetes are nearly fail-proof when it comes to selling your place, say industry members. “An event is never a complete disaster,” Mr. Shvo says. “As long as people have food and drinks.”But for the truly successful host, the rewards can be more stratospheric than the city’s tallest high-rise. According to Mr. Guberman, Core Development Group sold $7 million worth of properties within 10 days of an event.Hosted by SHVO, the launch party for the luxury condominium 20 Pine began with a performance by pop star John Legend, but ended with at least 15 apartment sales in the subsequent week. “I think we sold an apartment that night,” says Mr. Shvo. Occupancy for the condominium is slated for early 2007.The September kickoff event at the Onyx Chelsea, located at 261 W. 28th St., had similar results. Over the course of the night, about 400 attendees sashayed in and out of a 1500-square-foot space. “As a developer, I did my best to throw people out, but was unsuccessful,” the principal of Bronfman Haymes Real Estate Partners, Evan Haymes, joked. He had better luck at the sales office, where 222 appointments were made in weeks following the event.Sometimes the goal is just to have the scene to be seen at. Among other guests, the June launch of the “JADE by Jade Jagger” complex hosted Calvin Klein alongside the building’s namesake celebrity. “We were able to walk away with people wanting to see the sales office without 300 people in it,” an officer of development firm the Copper Group, Jeremy Beyda, said.The phenomenon has not escaped those in the world of commercial real estate. At 7 World Trade Center, the sales office has doubled as everything from a movie set to a venue for a Soho Synagogue party, said the marketing and communications director of Silverstein Properties, Dara McQuillan. “We hosted these events not so much to lease the property, but to open the building to the community.” Intents aside, the sales office’s main purpose is now obsolete: All vacancies have been filled.Ironically, the trick to throwing a successful bash is not to focus on the party itself. “Even marketing is one ingredient to make a product successful,” says Mr. Shvo, but it’s far from the only thing. “You have to do pre-event press, post-event press, and advertising all around the event.”The second ingredient is to provide a worthwhile experience for every attendee.”We’re very mindful of people’s time,” says Mr. Haymes of his firms marketing strategies. At the Onyx Chelsea launch, entertainment was limited to food and beverages. Hiring a DJ wasn’t even a consideration. “We are trying to be gimmick-free,” he says.The third ingredient, which many say is the most critical, is the selection of a partner whether it’s for branding or other purposes. “It’s not enough to invite socialites and celebrities and think that you are successful,” says Mr. Shvo. “There has to be a business and sales decision behind it.”Many event organizers, however, consider sales a secondary goal. Although their potential for drumming up business is undeniable, the fests can also serve other purposes that are no less critical.For one thing, they provide access to the brokerage community as a whole while also allowing for the possibility of targeting coveted niche markets. Earlier this month, developers at the Moinian Group hosted a breakfast for Chinese financiers at their latest project, the 627 West 42nd St.complex that is christened Atelier.“Anyone is invited, but we advertised to the Chinese community,” an associate director for the Moinian Group, Jason Gohari, said. The event was a way to establish relationships with one of many specific markets that have shown interest in the property, he said.The events are also vehicles for establishing bonds outside of the industry. Though SHVO tends to allow only the most luxurious brands to be affiliated with 20 Pine, on November 8th, they will be host an event with the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council to show their support for the organization.Last week, SDS Procida, the developers of Richard Meier on Prospect Park, co-sponsored a gala affair honoring Annie Leibovitz at the Brooklyn Museum. “To the extend that it happens to bring in buyers, that’s an added bonus,” the president and CEO of Procida Realty, Mario Procida, said, but the real goal is to support the venerable institution.Corcoran Group’s Wendy Maitland says that her parties also have altruistic aspirations. In September, she threw a “Saving Grace” benefit that combined two of her interests: the penthouse at 50 Bond Street, which is one of her listed properties, and the not for-profit organization FXB, which provides aid to villages in Africa. Ms. Maitland, who herself has adopted a village in Rwanda, says that she always pairs property-parties with charities that she supports. She did, however, receive several “serious” bids on the penthouse after the gala.With events happening every which way, prospective buyers should do their homework long before taking the first sip of champagne, advises the CEO of the Whitney Information Network, Russ Whitney.The Network provides real estate seminars to thousands each year. Prior to attending the events, says Mr. Whitney, would-be bidders should assess the value of the property by comparing the price of a property to that of others in the area.If it seems reasonable, “put in an offer for the asking price,” he says, but make it contingent upon inspection, approval, and financing. That way, if the property fails to meet expectations or housing standards, the buyer can legally back out of the deal. “One in a thousand people knows that,” he says.Whether they’re marketing tools, fundraisers, or something in between, the real estate crowd says that there is no end in sight for the ever-growing trend. “Events are becoming splashier because each developer is trying to get their project out there,” says Mr. Beyda.It has gotten to the point that architects have begun to incorporate this factor into their blueprints. “Do we have the party in mind when we design it?” said Mr. Chen, referring to a building’s layout. “I think we do — in a way.”That translates into good news for the industry. Says Ms. Maitland, “If you’re a broker in the real estate business, you probably don’t need to buy lunch or dinner for the next three months.”

New Broker Gimmick: Throw a Party, Sell the Place

New Broker Gimmick: Throw a Party, Sell the Place

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