Some people will do anything to sell a home. Like making strangely sexy real estate videos. Or holding way over-the-top open houses. Or dressing in a panda suit. Really.
Just ask Jessica Arnett, a Realtor® who recently donned the cuter-than-cute furry costume to bring more eyeballs to her listing in Spring, TX. The weird tactic has been met with rave reviews.
The home—a brick four-bedroom, 2.5-bathroom asking for $199,900—had been listed three weeks earlier, but had drummed up little interest and only two showings. Around this time, Arnett had read about a real estate agent in England who’d donned a giant bear suit to sell a home.
Spacious living quarters give pandas plenty of room to roam.
Jessica Arnett
“I posted the story on my Facebook page and joked that I’d do that for my next listing,” Arnett recalls. Apparently her clients saw her post—and decided it wasn’t such a bad idea. Might Arnett be willing to put on a panda suit and pose for some new listing pics? Do bears relieve themselves in the woods? (It’s a rhetorical question.)
Formal dining room with a very informal guest
Jessica Arnett
“At first I thought it was crazy,” Arnett admits. “I told the sellers, ‘I don’t know. It’ll make it seem like I’m not serious as a real estate agent. It might draw negative attention.’ But the seller had a sense of humor. He said, ‘we’ve had our house on the market for three weeks already; we need something different.’”
Airy kitchen perfect for preparing panda’s favorite food: bamboo
Jessica Arnett
So Arnett decided to give it a try, renting a panda suit from a costume store and posing for photos throughout the house.
“At first it tripped me out to be in a panda suit,” Arnett recalls. “It was also hot. It was a sweaty panda suit.” Delightful!
Double sinks mean pandas don’t have to share. With other pandas.
Jessica Arnett
But her hard work appears to be generating the exposure the home needs: Ever since the new photos went live, Arnett has been flooded with requests to see the home, with 12 showings in the first two days.
“I don’t know if it’s drawing in people who are just crazy or if we’re getting real buyers, but so far it’s been good,” she says.
A gorgeous fireplace means pandas will never be cold.
Jessica Arnett
So what’s next for Arnett? A chicken suit?
“No, to be honest,” she says. “These sellers had a sense of humor. But I don’t think there are a lot of sellers out there that will want me to do that. And I wouldn’t do it again, either, because if it gets overused it would be stupid.” Well put.
Nonetheless, this stunt just goes to show that when it comes to selling a home, there are no bad ideas—and home sellers (and agents) should keep an open mind to what might work, just as Arnett did.
“I’m just one of those people who will do anything to sell a house,” she says. “As long as it’s legal, of course.”
