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Vancouver real estate agent Kye Grace was pleased with the turnout for an open house he recently hosted in a Gastown loft. He just didn't get as much sleep as he had hoped.

The unit in a converted glass factory had remained on the market for longer than a year, so when Mr. Grace took over the listing, he decided to try a new tactic.

He brainstormed with a friend and came up with the idea of a marathon 72-hour open house, in which he let house hunters tour the $999,950 loft space in person and on-line.

With houses and condominium units languishing in many of North America's real estate markets, agents are searching for all sorts of creative new ways to reach prospective buyers and generate attention. Mr. Grace's three-day open house garnered the publicity he was looking for and a third showing for one prospective purchaser this weekend.

In Toronto, one agent recently co-hosted a party for hundreds of people in a condominium sales office decked out with all of the lighting, decor and atmosphere of a night club.

In Pickering, another agent offered a 42-inch television to the buyer of a 20-year-old detached house.

Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Bluetooth are increasingly becoming the tools of technology-savvy agents.

In the United States, marketing organizations are offering agents the opportunity to target niche groups at such websites as gayrealestatelistings.com and sexyrealtors.com.

This week the Canadian Real Estate Association predicted that home sales nationally will tumble by 16.9 per cent in 2009 compared with 2008. That expected drop follows a 17.1 per cent decline in 2008 compared with the previous year.

British Columbia, Alberta and Ontario will see the sharpest slides, according to CREA chief economist Gregory Klump.

Mr. Klump's report also forecasts an 8 per cent fall in the national average house price to $279,400 in 2009 from $303,594 in 2008.

Looking out to 2010, CREA sees a rebound in sales and more stable prices.

Mr. Klump is predicting that sales will rise 9.9 per cent in 2010, on average, across the country. The average national price will edge up 1.1 per cent next year compared with this year.

Beth Crosbie Alexander is a St. John's-based agent who is chairing a CREA task force looking into the business challenges facing young realtors.

CREA tallied about 100,000 members last year and budgeted for 97,000 this year. However, that number could go even lower, says Ms. Crosbie Alexander.

Mr. Grace, an agent with Sutton Group-Killarney Realty measured the success of his open house by the number of people who viewed the web site and visited the property, along with the media attention he has been receiving. More than 1,400 unique viewers viewed the live stream while approximately 100 people toured the unit in person.

"It's pretty tough to get 100 people to come to a $1-million house," says Mr. Grace.

Gastown, he says, is trendy and touristy but some potential buyers could be deterred by the fact that it's right next to Vancouver's grittier East Side neighbourhood.

Mr. Grace was also frustrated that one of the condo's coolest selling features — it's location in a converted warehouse for Pilkington Glass Co. — seemed to be keeping some potential buyers from seeing beyond the rustic facade.

"I think that was the big hurdle."

During the live stream, Mr. Grace talked on-camera with visitors. He filled about an hour and a half by chatting with a home inspector who took questions from viewers. He blogged and sent out updates on Twitter. When he took a break off camera, he ordered take-out and tried to catch some sleep.

"You can only do so much sitting in one spot before you get a little loopy," he says. "I didn't get as much sleep as I wanted."

A handful of people admitted to Mr. Grace that they showed up just because they were intrigued by the idea, but he figures about 40 out of the 100 were genuinely interested in the property.

The agent, who has been selling real estate for less than two years, says he was drawn to the business because he sees an opportunity for someone with creative ideas to gain an advantage.

"I sat and looked around for an industry where complacency would give someone with an entrepreneurial mind an edge," he says. "I came into this business knowing it was a bit staunch and I needed to do something fresh," he says.

Also in Vancouver, Ehsan Sharenejad of Macdonald Realty Ltd. is launching a service that uses Bluetooth to advertise properties to individual cell phone users.

In Toronto, Yossi Kaplan of Harvey Kalles Real Estate Ltd. recently had about 200 people turn out for a function at the Bohemian Embassy Condos on Queen St. West. Representatives of builder Baywood Homes were there, along with a mortgage expert from a chartered bank.

Mr. Kaplan says such gatherings provide an opportunity for guests to meet the designers, developers, builders and engineers involved in projects without being subjected to a heavy sales pitch.

"First and foremost it's just a way for people to interact."

Mr. Kaplan also appears in video tours of condo projects and posts the file on YouTube.

His aim, he says, is to overcome the intimidation that many young people feel when they consider buying a property for the first time.

"The real estate business is scary, it's big, it's going to take your money for months and months for years to come," he says of the prevailing attitude that he encounters among some twenty-somethings.

After his 72-hour open house, Mr. Grace received a phone call from a real estate agent near Atlanta who is trying to sell a 4,000-square-foot "executive" home in the suburbs. The agent asked Mr. Grace for ideas on how to increase traffic.

"Get the circus on the front lawn," was Mr. Grace's advice. He suggested renting an inflatable play area for the kids to jump around in, or bringing in fire fighters from the local department to talk about household safety. The agent could hire clowns and set up popcorn machines.

"Make it so kids want to come and their parents will have to come with them," he says.

Mr. Grace says he doesn't mind brainstorming with an agent who calls him looking for input. After all, it's unlikely he'll ever be selling a 4,000-square-foot executive home outside Atlanta, he reasons.

"I think if the industry changes or loosens up a little bit, it's better for everyone," he says.