Selling a mansion via TV 'spot'

December 1, 1980

West Coast viewers saw a brand-new type of TV commercial on their screens this fall -- a specific home for sale. San Francisco and Los Angeles stations ran a 30-second voice- over spot offering for sale a 24,000-square-foot, 58-room Grand Island mansion, 50 miles northeast of San Francisco, for $3 million.

Owners produced the short clip for less than $1,000 and paid between $5,000 and $10,000 for air time in each city. Results were said to be encouraging for a first-time experiment the owner-sellers said. Inquiries were directed to the Coldwell Banker realty of San Francisco.