@Wrightsville Beach house for sale

The race began this morning to sell a Wrightsville Beach luxury home through a viral social media marketing campaign.  

Yesterday, the 5,000-square-foot ocean front house located at 823 S. Lumina Ave. was listed for $4.2 million. Today, it is listed for $600,000 less. For the next week, Wilmington-based social media marketing firm, Maximum Design and Advertising plans to drum up nationwide interest in the luxury home to sell it for $3.6 million.  

The deal expires at noon on Wednesday, Jan. 20. The first person to put in an offer on the house this week will get it. 

“Now peer recommendations have really dislodged brand messaging,” said Tim Moore, Maximum’s social media director.  And he’s banking on word of mouth to find a buyer in the next 168 hours. That’s what he did a few years ago, when he piloted a similar campaign in Kansas City. After 50 hours, a co-worker of one of Moore’s Facebook friends handed him a check for the house after seeing it on the social network. 

“Social media has already changed the industry,” Moore said. The property is not listed on the multiple listing service, the database used by the real estate industry.  Instead, Moore went on the radio in Florida this morning and plans to go on air in Colorado on Saturday. And ads will hit the New York market soon.  

The six-bedroom, five-bathroom was designed by architect David Lisle and built by David James and Co. in 2008. The brokerage firm representing the property is Hardee, Hunt and Williams.  The home’s owner, Bert Exum, who is the developer of the Waterford development in Leland, would also like to sell an island in this region through social media marketing in the next week or so as well, Moore said.