Real-estate marketing technique #178 – Fake Families
This link was left in the comments yesterday by ‘anonymous’ (nice name by the way). The newest twist on house marketing in the U.S.A. is to go beyond ‘home staging’ and actually hire actors to play the part of a happy family ‘living’ in the house during a sales presentation. If you like reality tv, maybe you’ll like fake reality?
SANTA CLARITA – The scent of baking scones wafts through the house as children’s feet pound the floors.
“Dad” rushes to get things ready as “Mom” lounges on the couch.
It’s a birthday party for Camille Chen. “Husband” Jaason Simmons has breakfast in the oven and there’s about to be a surprise: He and the kids remodeled the den into a game room and won’t Mom, a notorious poker fiend, be pleased.
Except Chen and Simmons aren’t married, the kids aren’t theirs, they don’t really live in the house and they’re all Centex Homes marketing director Amanda Larson’s employees.
They’ve been hired to lounge around a model home, read magazines and occasionally pretend like they’re having breakfast.
Just how effective would this be? Do you think that the emotional connection is strong enough that people pretending to have a wonderful life in a house would increase the money paid for it? And how long till we see this technique put to work in Vancouver? Would you even spot it?
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December 28th, 2006 at 5:20 pm
If your home was for sale through a Realtor, “fake families” would be against the law in BC – in the same vein as touching up photos of the place on the MLS – misrepresentation.
The Realtor would be leaving themselves open for quite a lawsuit!
Why yes, I am!
July 27th, 2006 at 2:49 pm
I will gladly pay for your house inhabited by fake people with my fake money.
fair is fair.
July 27th, 2006 at 9:56 am
oops…I mean without the “owners” there…be they real or otherwise
July 27th, 2006 at 9:55 am
the pope said…
I don’t know.. I’m sceptical – for one thing if a house is occupied while you’re looking at it, doesn’t that tend to make you feel a bit like you’re in their way, or they in yours?
I agree. I prefer look at a house without the owner there
July 26th, 2006 at 7:17 pm
That would be a weird job to have.. sitting around pretending to live in a show home while they try to sell it.
July 26th, 2006 at 3:16 pm
I don’t know.. I’m sceptical – for one thing if a house is occupied while you’re looking at it, doesn’t that tend to make you feel a bit like you’re in their way, or they in yours?
July 26th, 2006 at 3:03 pm
Just how effective would this be?
Oh, probably very effective. I’m sure this is the direction that home selling will go, and people will think it’s quaint that people ever did it any other way.
July 26th, 2006 at 2:59 pm
fake realtors?
July 26th, 2006 at 2:19 pm
What’s next? fake houses?