It’s not easy to escape heavy headlines about coronavirus and the wavering stock market these days. But, Fredrik Eklund and Ben Bacal’s newest marketing campaign for a $32 million listing in Beverly Hills may provide a moment’s respite from spiraling thoughts during these tough times.
On Monday Eklund and Bacal released their “May the Sale Be With You” promotional video for 1231 Lago Vista Drive, Beverly Hills, and say they’re using “the Force” to clinch the sale.
Fredrik Eklund | Eklund Gomes Team
Eklund is a broker and co-founder of the Eklund Gomes Team, a top team at Douglas Elliman, and a star of Bravo’s “Million Dollar Listing New York.” Bacal, a Los Angeles-based luxury broker, recently left Rodeo Realty to create his own brokerage, Revel Real Estate, which is licensed under Side, a San Francisco-based brokerage platform.
Multi-million dollar listings can take time to sell, and the 12,800-square-foot property that contains seven bedrooms and 11 bathrooms, sat on the market for several months before Eklund and Bacal figured it was time for an innovative re-launch.
The duo sought to emphasize the property’s family-friendly nature, and thought some “Star Wars”-style marketing could do the trick.
“In Beverly Hills it’s very difficult to find a modern home with land, which means it’s begging for a family to move into this property, so we decided to make a video that exemplifies [that],” Bacal told Inman. “What better way to do it than come up with a fun twist on a family-type of movie.”
Ben Bacal | Revel Realty
By enlisting Eklund’s twin son and daughter, Bacal’s nephews, as well as a few other nephews and children of some members of the Revel team to play “young jedis” at the end of the video, Eklund and Bacal hoped to show that the home’s yard and other features provide ample play space, where even young Jedis can thrive.
“[The video] illustrates the fact that it’s a kid-friendly modern home, which is extremely rare anywhere from Beverly Hills to Los Angeles,” Bacal said.
Clearly visible in their “May the Sale Be With You” video, the property sits on one acre of land with pine and olive trees surrounding the perimeter. There are no neighbors to the right of the home, and on the home’s left side, a street separates the property from neighbors, providing space and privacy. An outdoor swimming pool, home theater and game room also provide ample sources of entertainment for children.
The remainder of the video evokes the all the luxury and pagentry a high-class jedi might crave — not only by depicting Eklund and Bacal with jedi powers — but also by showing off features like floating staircases, the home gym, the master bath deep-soaking tub and the outdoor barbecue area.
Other notable features of the listing include a six-foot Mooi chandelier, state-of-the-art appliances, a walkout balcony off of the master suite, close proximity to Coldwater Canyon Park, keyless entrys via thumbprint scan, a poker room that doubles as a wine storage cellar and two garages that include hydraulic doors that minimize noise on opening and closing.
Eklund and Bacal will also host an open house and “Star Wars” viewing party on March 17 — the digital streaming release date of “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker,” the series’ final film — from 11:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m. and 5:00-8:00 p.m.
At this time, they have no plans to postpone or cancel the party in the wake of increased coronavirus concerns over the past week. Alexis Lopez, vice president of The Society Group, the public relations firm that worked with Eklund and Bacal to create the video, also assured Inman that ample precautions would be taken at the party, like providing plenty of hand sanitizer to visitors.
