In This Case, A Free Porsche Translates To Marketing Desperation

Free Luxury Car Give-Aways To Sell Luxury Condos Don’t Work.
The Purpose Of Marketing Property Is To Create Value. A Big Giveaway Doesn’t Do That.
Marketing Luxury Condos By Giving Away Luxury Cars Projects Weakness

A Queens condo development has nearly a dozen penthouses left to sell. Someone thought it would be a good idea to throw in $200 thousand electric Porsches to induce buyers to spend $4 million on a home. I’ve always loved the Porsche brand (and how to properly pronounce it), with the ignition on the left side. I happily owned a triple black Boxter S for about a decade a while back and it was a rocket ship. My wife always teased me if another Porsche happened to be headed in the opposite direction when I pulled up to an intersection. I’d always get a knowing nod from its driver as if we were part of a special brotherhood. Throughout my career, there have been many periods where real estate professionals have thought that giving away a “free” car enables a sale. In my experience, the buyers will nearly always take a lower price rather than the vehicle. While it does draw additional eyeballs to the listing such as the Crains piece and this Housing Note did, they are probably not the right eyeballs.

I’ve written about this marketing practice more than I’d care to admit, likely because I can’t believe this publicity stunt continues to be used. Here are just a few times I’ve touched on the subject over the years:

[April 5, 2006 – Ferrari] Turbocharged Marketing To The Lowest Common Denominator
[July 12, 2014 – Tesla] …And The Home Seller Will Give You A Free Tesla!
[June 3, 2008 – International Scout] [BOGO] Of Tractors And Free Lunches

On that last one, I always thought BOGO (a friend in the retail grocery business told me it was “buy one get one”) would catch on as a marketing slogan, but it didn’t.

Marketing A Listing Is Supposed To Project Value

The job of real estate brokerage firms and their sales agents is to create value in the eyes of the buyer enough to result in the sale of a listing.

“Marketing creates value for customers by understanding their needs, communicating the benefits of products or services, and ensuring a positive customer experience. This leads to increased customer satisfaction and loyalty.”

The buyer of a $4 million penthouse condo in Queens, New York, arguably at the very top of the price spectrum in that location, isn’t going to be convinced to spend that amount of money by being given a free car. The value of the free offer is not linked to the asset they are acquiring. Someone making enough money to afford such a condo purchase likely already has a nice car. Ha.

Final Thoughts

Offering a free expensive car to make a sale, telegraphs desperation by the developer because sales aren’t moving fast enough. Purchasing a car in the $200 thousand price range is a highly personalized decision, like buying a stylish wardrobe or jewelry. This is not the same marketing concept that has been popular in Miami, where entire developments are branded by luxury cars, such as Porsche, Aston-Martin, Mercedes-Benz, and Bentley. Perhaps the Queens developer was confused by the Miami phenomenon although that is a very different situation where a connection between the car and the condo has been made. Offering a free luxury car to complete the transaction doesn’t create more value associated with the property or an incentive to purchase it and that is completely different than the branding of an entire development based on a car and its branded lifestyle. Almost universally, a buyer would simply interpret a publicity stunt like this as “there is at least a couple of hundred thousand to trim from my offer” and potentially infers there is even more room for additional discounting.

Real estate knowledge is marketing knowledge as shown here.

Luxury Agent Forum – October 30th

I’m looking forward to speaking at Luxury Roundtable’s exclusive summit in New York on Oct. 30 on the outlook for luxury real estate. Topics include global luxury real estate demand and supply, inventory, feeder markets, regulation, market analysis, design, décor and architecture, HNW and UHNW buying and selling behavior, marketing, developments, best practices in lead gen and referrals, AI and tech, and what works for luxury brands and retailers—experts from the leading luxury real estate networks, brokerages, and brands worldwide. Expect plenty of networking and knowledge sharing. I also have a special speaker discount that gives you 20 percent off the registration fee. Please type in LUX20 when you register for the event: