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Home sellers and Realtors® have tried many a tactic to lure potential buyers to open houses, and make them feel welcome once they get there: freshly baked cookies, a bowl of oranges, flowers blooming on the table.
But how about a dinner party?
That’s the method used by Jennifer Wolf, the 23-year-old owner of Vivonne, “a members-only supper club that partners with brokerages like Douglas Elliman Real Estate to arrange these events,” The New York Times reported this weekend.
The dinner, the Times said, was “intended to bring together creative professionals not just for networking, but also to show off a new high-end property nearing completion.” The guests included architects, DJs, restaurateurs, photographers, and entrepreneurs.
How did the evening play out? “A four-course tasting menu was prepared by up-and-coming chefs.” To drink, there were artisanal cocktails. In addition, there was a live dance performance.
There was plenty of room for dancing in the 4,000-square-foot, $13.5 million penthouse—a four-bedroom duplex with a terrace—at the Stella Tower in Hell’s Kitchen. The penthouse next door, while not hosting an event, happened to be for sale, too.
We haven’t seen such gourmet pitches since the direst days of the housing bust, when some eager-to-sell developers served free brunch, and highly discounted condos, to prospective buyers. Does that mean the luxury sector is getting nervous about having enough buyers to snatch up penthouses?
Could be. Because land and home prices are so high, new construction, especially in markets like New York City, is disproportionately geared toward the upper echelons of the market. Someday, we’ve been warned, that might mean a glut of luxury residences.
Whether the lure of fine food works to overcome that hurdle is yet to be seen. As the Times reported, neither of the penthouses at the Stella has been sold.
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