Real estate marketing, Malibu style

Eagle-eyed Malibu blogger and real estate agent Michael Gardner spotted this little marketing gimmick in Malibu over the weekend. The old bikini-girls-with-the-fliers routine. He writes: "These two ladies were hired to sunbathe on lounge chairs on PCH and to pass out flyers about rentals at Villa Malibu. In the 5 minutes I was there several people pulled up to get flyers and numerous construction workers drove by real slow either giving a thumbs up or a salutory honk of the horn."

Hey, times are tough. Whatever works. It's certainly cheaper than throwing a big booze party, which is another Malibu marketing trick these days.

Here's the website for Villa Malibu.

-- Peter Viles
Photo Credit: The Malibu Real Estate Blog

Comments

[Arti]

They're not *that* desperate, if they were, they'd actually mark their prices closer to where the market is. Instead, Malibu, BH, SM, Brentwood and PP prices have remained sticky, which is why there is no buying or selling going on. Sellers are all waiting for the market to turn, so they're going to wait months or years before they get realistic with their list prices. Meanwhile no one's buying.

[dwr]

"These two ladies were hired to sunbathe on lounge chairs on PCH and to pass out flyers about rentals at Villa Malibu."

Those look like Malibu realtors to me.

[Laura]

Villa Malibu had a hard time selling during the r.e. boom, so they or anyone else can't blame it on this bubble if you will.

I find it interesting actually that so many developers are blaming their lack of sales on the real estate downturn, when during the boom they couldn't sell either, they were either overpriced, didn't understand or know their location well etc....

[latesummer2009]

Malibu RE is getting hit hard, so it doesn't suprise me. The number of SFR sales dropped dramatically from 27 to 4 last June 08', measured from June of 07'. Desperate times call for desperate measures.

Price drops of 15-40% measured Year over Year (YOY) are becoming more common on The Westside. You can see Malibu and other area price declines at http://westsideremeltdown.blogspot.com

With Alt-A and ARM loans just starting to recast, many now believe The Westside is in for a 40-60% drop in price when finished.

[Scott McIntosh]

For your reference only...Here are the median year-over-year stats (jan-july 08 vs 07) taken from the MLS in 13 prime Westside areas. 5 out of the 13 are down y-o-y. However, the average of the 5 areas that are down y-o-y is 3.9%.

MEDIAN PRICE 2008 VS 2007

1 Beverly Hills $3,850,000 $3,365,000
2 Sunset Strip $1,575,000 $1,525,000
3 Bel Air $1,835,000 $1,650,000
4 Westwood $1,316,500 $1,332,000 -1.2%
5 Brentwood $2,100,000 $2,297,500 -8.6%
6 West L.A. $747,000 $749,000 -0.3%
7 Cheviot Hills $1,440,000 $1,337,000
8 West Hollywood Vicinity $1,055,000 $1,100,000 -4.1%
9 Venice $1,220,000 $1,160,000
10 Marina Del Rey $1,600,000 $1,550,000
11 Palms - Mar Vista $805,000 $851,566 -5.5%
12 Santa Monica $2,050,000 $1,700,000
13 Pacific Palisades $2,175,000 $2,100,000

http://www.thewestwoodblog.com

[Samantha]

I recently spoke to a broker in Malibu, Christine Lewis from Coldwell Banker. I called after I found her website malibubeachmansions.com My husband and I are form texas but looking for a MALIBU BEACH HOME to spend the summers at. She is very knowledgeable and we are planning to come into town to see some of the properties she has. Her site is quite aesthetically pleasing and is one of the reasons we have decided to work with her.