Lights, camera, sale! More brokers use movies to move listings

From left: 432 Park Avenue, Harry Macklowe, 200 Eleventh Avenue and Ryan Serhant
From left: 432 Park Avenue, Harry Macklowe, 200 Eleventh Avenue and Ryan Serhant

More and more developers and agents are relying on the magic of the movies to sell homes. Indeed, about 14 percent of sellers used video to help sell homes in 2012, up from 9 percent five years ago, according to data from the National Association of Realtors.

High-end condo developers in particular are turning to short films to help stir interest in a property that may still be far from completion. At Harry Macklowe’s 432 Park Avenue, for example, the developer commissioned a $1 million film showcasing the property, complete with a full-fledged plot and a cameo from King Kong, as previously reported.

And Nest Seekers International’s Ryan Serhant, star of the reality show “Million Dollar Listing New York,” recently commissioned a film for a penthouse he’s marketing at 200 Eleventh Avenue, according to the Wall Street Journal.

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The film is expected to cost at least $20,000 and will feature helicopters, “fast cars” and models, Serhant told the Journal.

“It’s going to be a bigger-than-life apartment,” Serhant said. “I can’t have a dinky little listing video.” [WSJ]  – Hiten Samtani