New Jersey “condo crawl” brings prospective buyers back in a down market

Condo brokers in New Jersey are trying a different tact at luring buyers in what has become a languid season for sales. In Montclair-Glen Ridge, where there are more than 60 condos for sale, agent Roberta Baldwin of Re/Max Village Square Realtors oversaw the invention of the “condo crawl,” a massive regional open house held by 35 brokers simultaneously on the afternoon of Nov. 1. While Baldwin said she had been showing her condo listing just two or three times over two month periods, each listing on the crawl received an average of nine or 10 visitors. Some of the newest, most expensive listings had more than 30 viewers in three hours. In Summit, broker Karen Bigos of Towne Realty Group brought in between 15 and 20 prospective buyers after getting five agents from different firms to sign on to show their units together late last month. [NYT]