Mercury News

ST LOUIS REAL ESTATE TAKES CENTER STAGE ON NEW TELEVISION PROGRAM

Local Production Company’s Virtually Open House Explores Home Buying Experience

ST. LOUIS—June 26, 2007—Mercury Multimedia today announced the launch of Virtually Open House, an original television program showcasing properties for sale and rent in St. Louis. Virtually Open House is the only real estate television show produced and aired in St. Louis that focuses on all types of properties represented by all Realtor organizations. The half-hour weekly program features professional video tours and special segments on the home ownership experience, from interior design to increasing curb appeal.

Virtually Open House offers potential homebuyers and renters a central, dynamic resource to help determine where they want to live. Starting this week, Virtually Open House will air at 6 p.m. each Saturday on KDNL-TV/Channel 30. The first show will feature property tours all over town, from Chesterfield to House Springs and St. Louis City, as well as a Commercial Corner for office space and special segments on landscaping and mortgage banking.

The show re-airs online at locally run www.virtuallyopenhouse.com with video tours of individual properties searchable by zip code.

“Web tours are the next wave of real estate marketing,” said Ollie Clerc III, owner of Performance Brokers, Inc. Clerc has netted over $2.7 million as a direct result of using www.virtuallyopenhouse.com, which has been providing video footage of local properties since 2006. Clerc plans to combine web tours of his properties with television spots on Virtually Open House, giving his listings even more exposure to the market. “Virtually Open House offers outstanding video quality of properties at reasonable prices. It is an excellent marketing opportunity for local Realtors and home sellers.”

Virtually Open House is designed to give local Realtors and industry experts an affordable and entertaining outlet to showcase their properties and provide valuable insight into the homeowner experience. The show’s video property listings include single-family, multi-family, new construction, condominiums, lofts and properties available for rent or lease. Virtually Open House is not associated exclusively with any brokerage firm and is available to all local real estate agents.

“Viewing open houses and industry experts in your own living room has been available to St. Louisans in the past, but never in this amount of depth and breadth,” said Chris Lawing, executive producer of Virtually Open House. “By educating people about current lending rates, how to choose a Realtor or keep your house cool over the summer, we cover the entire home ownership experience. In addition, no other outlet offers consumers or Realtors a television show that’s integrated with online video tours.”

Rachel Parr, the host of Virtually Open House, graduated from University of Missouri-Columbia with a bachelor’s degree in broadcast journalism. Before moving to Saint Louis, she was a television reporter in Columbia, Missouri and Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Parr has always had an interest in real estate and is a recent first-time home buyer.

“I looked at several photos of potential homes, but was often disappointed when I visited the property. Video tours provide you with a scope to see more of the layout and dimensions of the home,” says Parr. “Our Saturday evening airtime allows viewers to get a virtual video tour before visiting open houses the next day.”

Virtually Open House is produced by Mercury Multimedia, a Saint Louis-based broadcast and corporate video production company. Virtually Open House is the second television show Mercury Multimedia has created. The company’s nationally syndicated movie reviews show, cinemattractions, is in its third year of programming and is currently seen in over 53 million households nationwide.