Thursday
Sep292011
Taking a real estate listing to a whole new level
Thu, 29 Sep 2011A big thanks to Nina for sending us a link to a real estate listing for a home in Sweden, and it's not your average listing. The photos have been tweaked with an old-world treatment and the owners (I'm guessing) were asked to pose in several of the photos in costume. Nina thought the listing was lovely, and I did as well when I glanced through them briefly the first time. After a second and third look, my feelings changed towards CREEPY. It sort of reminds me of an old Hitchcock/horror movie where in the next shot all the participants will be sprawled in pools of blood. Am I nuts? What do you guys think?
Reader Comments (43)
I see what you mean...
Oh I think that's properly creepy. Especially the little girl. It reminds me of a Victorian horror/ghost story.
Creepy. That little girl is posessed and the guy in the window? He has just horribly murdered the two women.
I'll just fourth that...you're not nuts Kim.
That one of the woman & girl climbing the stairs and staring dead (ha ha) ahead?
"And then they saw it there. Ahead of them on the second landing. The body they thought, for certain, they'd thrown down the abandoned well yesterday. It was back. Dripping."
I work in real estate here in the US and I don't think I would employ this particular marketing stategy. But to each their own.
Yes, it was creepy to me at first glance. The house had the whole Amityville Horror feel to it as well...
Totally creepy and I kinda think they probably did this to cover up how much work the house needs. It looks pretty shabby if you look past the sepia tones and people.
Definitely creepy. "Come live with us... forever... and ever..."
I don't really find it creepy, but I can see how others would. I just don't know how it's going to help them sell the house. It doesn't really make the house look good.
Agree on the creepy factor and also, as a buyer, I might think it was some kind of joke, a listing from 1902 slipped in just for fun.
It's definitely intersting - I would think this would narrow their pool of interested buyers though. But it does make them stand out. I guess it could go either way!
I guess it's a creative attempt at making a knock down look charming. It's a way to get people to look at the listing with interest rather than total dismissal. It worked. -It's on DTI. :-)
I agree with Shannon that the house needs lots of work especially the kitchen...I guess this helps you to look beyond that....Or they could simply have done some of the work before putting the house on the market.
"Hey, honey - here's an idea! Let's highlight how old our house is by dressing up like inhabitants from a previous century! Like ghosts! People will love it."
Seriously - this is such a kooky idea. And it's creepy. Someone from Sweden please tell us this is an uncommon device.
Some of those pictures give me the willies. I would not want to live there. The B/W photo makes the kitchen cabinet look as if it were blood-splattered... ick
Also, is that a ceramic foot I spy next to the sink in the powder room?
CREEPY! i wouldn't want to live there. reminds me of "the others". little kids in costume from that era always look creepy... like are haunting.
Hehe, totally creepy! But a clever promotional thought nonetheless..
I don't find it creepy; bit strange for something that is a marketing material but I like the photos. And I like the house and love the kitchen. There aren't many of them left in their original condition. Could move in immediately. Which, I guess, makes me weird :-D
This house was built in the 1920's and is still in it's original condition. The agency hired some extras from a theater and did a storytelling. It seems like it worked - it's been all over the media here in Sweden and apparently it has attracted loads of potential buyers.
This particular kind of storytelling is not that common (with extras and all) but storytelling as a whole is quite popular at the moment. It's a dramatic counter-reaction to the kind of home staging that has been the unwritten rule when selling a home in Sweden. (bowl of lemons etc. etc.)
Fantastic Frank is a Swedish real estate agency that does witty but subtle storytelling. Be sure to check them out!
I can totally understand *why* they did it ... as it certainly sets their listing apart from anything else out there ... Sweden or otherwise. Having said that a friend and I were talking about styling generally the other day and things have completely gotten out of hand. I mean. What are they selling? Does the family come with the house?!? Stick to the basics people. They work for a reason.
Not sure if they will sell this house, but it makes an interesting picture story!
Creepers. That's it. Just creepers.
Dude, awesome. And yes, the next shot is totally the little girl standing in front of a bloody corpse, axe in hand. I like the way your mind works, Kim.
The oddest thing I noticed was not the nicely done historic imagery, but why the seller/agent/whomever would choose not to market from the angle of living a GREAT modern life in a terrific vintage home...or somesuch much more positive overall slant. Just my 2 cents.