Real Estate Shows: Active Market Drives Crowds

By Rachelle Crum -- Tradeshow Week, 6/20/2005

Almost as swiftly as they are racing to open houses, Americans are running to weekend real estate consumer shows ¡ª especially to one group of shows that feature Donald Trump, in the flesh, plugging the shows' slogan: "One weekend can make you a millionaire."

And although many consumers cringe at the thought of watching an infomercial for a few minutes, let alone a few hours, speakers like Trump, best-selling "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" author Robert Kiyosaki, motivational speaker Tony Robbins and hip-hop impresario Russell Simmons are drawing tens of thousands of attendees to an infomercial-come-to-life series of Real Estate Wealth Expos in the United States' larger cities.

But the real estate boom is not limited to New York and Los Angeles. The real estate market's skyrocketing values are also drawing consumers to smaller-scale real estate shows around the country that are teaching the fundamentals of home ownership. Five Northern California cities worked together to attract 500 attendees to their co-sponsored Tri-Valley Housing Expo June 4 at the CarrAmerican Conference Center in Pleasanton, Calif.; and the 350-attendee Real Estate Investors Expo, managed by the Central Florida Realty Investors Assn., took place Feb. 19¨C21 at the Wyndham Orlando Resort.

"There's been a huge explosion in the industry in the last couple of years," said Cheryl Kaiser, a CFRIA executive. The group is one of 150 member groups of the Natl. Real Estate Investors Assn., the majority of which run consumer shows.

Sales of new single-family houses in April rose to 1.3 million, more than 13 percent over the same month last year, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

So, when New York-based event producer and publishing firm Learning Annex attracted 21,000 attendees and 40 exhibitors to the inaugural Real Estate Wealth Expo October 2004 at New York's Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, Exhibits and Sponsorships Coordinator John Goodfriend knew he had a record-breaking event on his hands. "We would have been thrilled with 10,000 people," he said.

For the second Real Estate Wealth show, at the Los Angeles Convention Center April 30¨CMay 1, the firm enlisted more than 500 Learning Annex continuing education students as commission-based independent sales associates (instead of a show management or public relations firm) to market exhibit space during the four months prior to the show. In the month leading up to the show, it spent more than $1 million on advertising. It isn't a surprise then that the show drew 46,000 attendees to visit 130 exhibitors.

Goodfriend said, "We could have sold another 50-plus booths for L.A., but we were not able to expand our space quickly enough." In the future, "one of our biggest challenges is finding venues with sufficient space available.

"For each of the past expos, we prepared for success and were met with a mega-success. We expected 5,000 to 10,000 (attendees) in New York, and more than 20,000 showed up. We planned for 25,000 to 30,000 in L.A., and 46,000 showed up."

In fact, Goodfriend said that being "surprised is an understatement for the actual results" of the Learning Annex shows. "We will, of course, be ready for at least 50,000 for our next expo (in New York this fall)," he added.

The show will head back to the Javits center Oct. 22¨C23 and will be in the Chicago area for the first time Nov. 5¨C6, at Rosemont's Donald E. Stephens Convention Center. In 2006, Learning Annex will add San Francisco's Moscone Center (March 25¨C26) and two more unconfirmed cities to its circuit.

There is a three-tiered registration fee schedule for the real estate shows. The basic fee of $29 includes admission to the showfloor and 70 weekend seminars. For an additional $129, the visitors may attend keynote speaker sessions with Trump and Kiyosaki; and $499 buys VIP check-in and VIP seating for keynote sessions.

Although he would not disclose revenue, Goodfriend called the VIP sales "significant." Forty-four percent of the shows' attendees have an average income of more than $75,000.

Kiyosaki calls the Wealth Expos "high-energy, powerful events that have a big impact on lives." The events are "a way for us to connect with people who put a value on financial education and support them as they learn, and teach others," he added.

Tracey Burnside, director of brand marketing for Aliso Viejo, Calif.-based GoApply.com, said the lender-broker matching firm's 10¡ä¡Á10¡ä booth at the LACC show generated "enough exposure to make it worth our while." The show "seemed like a low-risk, good test for our company. It helped introduce our brand into the marketplace."

Jason Tomei, a realtor with Las Vegas-based Venture Realty Group, agreed. "Our experience was fantastic," he said. "We are currently considering attending and having a booth at the future expos in New York and Chicago."

The show was the first consumer real estate event for both 4-year-old firms.

Despite the ongoing debate about whether a bubble looms in the U.S. real estate market, Goodfriend anticipates that the shows will go on ¡ª successfully.

"There are just as many real estate opportunities in a level, and even a decreasing, market," he said.

Burnside said her firm will exhibit in the 2006 Los Angeles show ¡ª no matter which way the real estate market goes. "I would shift focus to other areas," she said, and jokingly added: "I have foreclosure presentations."