Local realtor gets more than 15 minutes of fame

By Marisa Donelan
11/03/2007

LEOMINSTER -- City Realtor Gerry Bourgeois has been in realty magazines and on local television programs, but last month he went national.

Bourgeois, owner of Towne & Country Realtors, was shown in two segments airing on the CBS Evening News Oct. 19 and on Tuesday, discussing national trends in the real estate market.

"Given the fact that this was CBS Evening News, I was very honored and thrilled that they included me," he said Friday during an interview in his office. "It was just the right place, right time."

Bourgeois, 38, got the opportunity because he'd recently hired a videographer to produce a video tour of a $1.6 million home for sale in Leominster. The videographer, from Nashua Video Tours, had already been in talks with the network to do a segment on creative home sales.

As home sales are down and prices are dropping, Bourgeois said sellers have to turn to more creative ways to get a good value out of their home.

One of the best ways is producing video tours, which are becoming more cost-effective and efficient because of faster Internet downloading and better technology, he said.

"This is the first property I did it on," he said, referring to his first video tour. "It's not inexpensive, but on a high-end property, it makes sense, because you have to spend money to make money. You hire a professional, and it looks professional. A year ago, this was cost prohibitive."

Better imaging technology allows users to visit a realtor's Web site and get a real feel for what a home looks like -- in the Leominster home's video, the camera focuses on details such as the mahogany floor, the gas range stove and granite countertops.

Bourgeois said he's gotten positive reactions from customers about the video, and homeowners like it because it cuts back on the need for open houses.

And despite scary news about national real estate trends and major problems in the mortgage market, Bourgeois said single-family home sales in North Central Massachusetts are doing relatively well.

"It's not as bad as some may lead you to believe," he said. "Houses are still selling."

Bourgeois said he plans to continue doing video tours. His first is on Towne & Country's Web site at www.realtyman.com and other listing sites, and he's even posted it on YouTube.

"To sell homes now, you can't just throw an ad in the paper and hope it's going to sell, you can't just put a sign up on the front lawn and hope it's going to sell," he said. "You have to be more aggressive."