Jumbo open house spurs 440% increase in visitors

In an encouraging display of interest in the New York City real estate market, more than 1,150 people visited new developments represented by Corcoran Sunshine Marketing Group during the company's first-ever portfolio-wide open house, held last month.

The event drove a 440% increase in visitors across the 36 participating buildings, or more than five times that of an average weekend in the month leading up to the open house.

"Corcoran Sunshine and our developers are absolutely thrilled with the results of our premiere Open House Weekend. The event underscored New York City's enduring attraction to new residential development," said Kelly Kennedy Mack, president of Corcoran Sunshine.

"It was successful because we made it extremely convenient to visit multiple developments all in one weekend. We saw brokers and their buyers exploring new buildings, neighborhoods, and for some even new development as a category.

"The city's top brokers are thinking creatively right now and we designed our open house with that in mind."

Visitors were almost evenly split between the public and real estate brokers, comprised of 46% prospective buyers and 54% members of the brokerage community.

The open house generated direct sales activity, including an accepted offer on a three bedroom residence at Fifteen Madison Square North. At Riverhouse in Battery Park City, the sales team reported a contract out on a large four bedroom and multiple offers on a particularly coveted three bedroom home.

"At 10 West End Avenue we had a buyer with a contract out on a residence in the Horizon Collection. He saw how many prospects came through that home during our event and got in touch with his attorney the next morning. We had a signed contract by Wednesday," says Loretta Shanahan Bradbury, Sales Director at Corcoran Sunshine.

Feedback from prospective buyers indicated that a popular reason for attending the weekend was the "low-pressure atmosphere." Because all hours were standardized and no appointments were necessary, buyers felt comfortable visiting a sales center and learning about the building in a casual setting. For brokers, the event made it convenient to show multiple developments at once.

In preparation for the event, sales teams refreshed strategies and invited top prospects and brokers. Some served food from local cafes and markets, and one developer provided complimentary parking vouchers encouraging visitors to stay the day and explore the neighborhood.

Through a special arrangement between Corcoran Sunshine and Manhattan Mortgage, anyone who attended the Open House Weekend and subsequently applied for a mortgage received a $500 rebate on their application.

The most trafficked building of the weekend was the recently-launched 56 Leonard designed by Herzog & de Meuron with over 100 visitors, followed by Chelsea Enclave, The Mark, 300 East Seventy Nine, and Richard Meier On Prospect Park.