The Fayette Citizen-News Page
Wednesday, May 10, 2000
New advertising campaign is now talk of the town

Look who's talking.

“I'm a cozy Cape Cod. I've got shiny hardwood floors, four bedrooms, two and a half baths, a large family room and eat-in kitchen.”

Say hello to houses that talk back. They will, that is, if you turn your car radio to the station listed on the for sale sign jutting out of the front lawn.

Of course, the houses don't really talk, but you could be fooled into believing they do.

While the idea may seem cute, Assist 2 Sell Buyer & Seller Realty Center in Newnan is using talking house broadcasts to increase sales by placing them inside some of the homes they list.

The two pound transmitter is about the size of a telephone answering machine and gives prospective buyers enough information to know if they want a closer look.

It plugs into any grounded electrical outlet and has a range of about 300 feet.

Potential buyers need only pull their car up in front of the house and tune their car radio to 1610 AM to hear the realtors voice give a three minute description of the property.

“No other marketing tool anywhere guarantees that kind of captive audiences,” said Gary Marshall of Assist 2 Sell.

The talking house concept stems from the notion that people are buying neighborhoods before they are buying homes.

According to Realty Electronics, who manufactures the transmitters, realtors across the country are typically receiving a 300-500 percent increase in sign call responses.

“Talking house is another advertising tool that gets people to call the office and deal with us directly,” said Marshall.


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