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Sometimes a listing photo needs something more—like a Spider-Man, mermaids, or maybe even Freddy Krueger. Real estate pros aren’t shy about donning costumes for property photos, a growing marketing gimmick that helps listings go viral online. Halloween is a natural time for this tactic, which has helped agents find buyers.
This Home Has ‘Great Bones’
Bre McCarthy, a real estate professional with the Lisa Vela Group at Five Star Realty in Muskegon, Mich., used listing photos featuring a skeleton costume to show off a fixer-upper. The skeleton is holding a sign that reads “great bones” in front of the home’s dilapidated exterior. The home’s clever marketing has made it go viral, and McCarthy says she’s received many inquiries from buyers since the photos and listing have been posted. The five-bedroom, two-bathroom home is listed for $74,900.
“We wanted to do something unique to market this home and get it in front of as many potential buyers as possible,” McCarthy says. “The home is solid, with beautiful features and potential to be restored. That’s where the ‘great bones’ idea started.”
Engaging the ‘Spidey Sense’
In May, listing agent Jaime Willis of Compass pulled a 720-square-foot, two-bedroom condo in Northeast Washington, D.C., off the market after it lingered for nearly two months. Smaller units have been a tougher sell since the pandemic. Willis and the homeowner decided to try again this fall, but they enlisted some superhero help.
Willis hired a Spider-Man impersonator to pose throughout the condo for listing photos. Spider-Man is everywhere: reading a book in the living room, unpacking groceries in the kitchen, sorting the laundry, and soaking in the tub. After the photos were posted online, “interest in the listing skyrocketed,” Willis says. To capture even more buyer interest, Willis is holding an open house on Halloween to hand out candy; Spider-Man will be there, too.
Freddy’s Home
Freddy Krueger has been enlisted to help sell the home featured in the 1984 horror flick “Nightmare on Elm Street.” He can be spotted throughout the listing photos of the home, working from the home office, lounging near the pool, or haunting the bathtub.
The listing agents, Heather Roy and Learka Bosnak of Douglas Elliman, are accepting offers on the $3.25 million home until midnight on Halloween. The movie helped make the home famous. In the movie, the property was located in the fictitious town of Springwood, Ohio, the home is actually located in the Spaulding Square neighborhood of Los Angeles.
