This $4.5M Home Wouldn’t Sell—Until a Baby Rave Changed Everything

A $4.5 million Los Angeles home struggled to find a buyer until the listing agents hosted a “baby rave” open house. Now, the Crestwood Hills home that had gone through two delistings is in escrow, and it offers a look inside what it takes to move properties in a sluggish market.

Delistings have surged nearly 50% this summer, a move that would be unthinkable just a few years ago. In June, the most recent month for which data is available, 21 homes were delisted for every 100 homes hitting the market—up from just six in 2022.

It’s a mark of how much times have changed and why new and inventive marketing tactics are taking the market by storm. We spoke to the listing agent with the idea on how it worked, what buyers saw, and what lessons other sellers can take away.

The house that wouldn’t sell

The Crestwood Hills home first hit the market in March 2025 for $4,495,000—but just three weeks later, it was pulled. A second attempt in April ended the same way, with another delisting by May.

It’s a pattern that’s becoming more common, especially as the housing market shifts out of an extreme seller’s market into a more balanced one, with seven metros tipping into buyer’s market territory.

 “Sellers are losing market power but are futilely resisting,” says Realtor.com® senior economist Jake Krimmel. Delistings are "a way for sellers to reassert control in a market where their leverage is fading.”

That loss of leverage was especially frustrating in this case. The home had all the right selling points: a desirable school district, a pool, and—rare for the neighborhood—a large, flat, grassy yard. But its location just north of Sunset Boulevard made it a tougher sell, and in the shifting dynamics, the listing languished.

But after agents Claire and Sam O'Connor, of O'Connor Estates in Los Angeles, sold a nearby home for a high price per square foot, the seller reached out to see if they could help find a buyer for the property.

From the outset, Claire knew this listing would require something different.

“It’s not a house that’s going to sell for a premium with just regular photography and regular marketing,” she says. Instead, they leaned in to the property’s best features, its family-friendly layout and rare outdoor space.

“This house is in an incredible school district,” she explains, “and it has a huge flat, grassy yard. We really wanted to highlight how approachable it was for a family.”

So, what’s a baby rave and what does it have to do with selling a house?

It then became a question of the best way to highlight these features. A typical open house might have prospective buyers mill about for 10 or 15 minutes, easily overlooking what made the property special.

Since Claire and Sam wanted to target families who could really appreciate what made the home special, they turned their first open house into something unexpected: a baby rave.

Part playdate, part music class, part high-energy showcase, the event featured DJ and children’s entertainer Jason Mesches—known for spinning contemporary beats while blowing bubbles and handing toddlers toy instruments. He brought a drummer, a guitar, and a whole lot of chaos—in the best possible way.

The idea wasn’t just to entertain. It was also to make the house feel like a home.

“We knew this house was family-friendly, but we wanted to create an event that was family-centric,” Claire explains. Instead of dragging their kids from room to room, parents got to watch them explore and play, giving potential buyers a chance to experience the home as a space where their families could thrive.

And it wasn’t just the toddlers dancing.

“The parents had just as much, if not more, fun than the kids,” she says.

Why it worked

In a market where attention is harder to earn, the event offered a way to cut through the noise, bringing more than just music and bubbles.

By inviting friends, past clients, and local families to the event, Claire and Sam packed the open house with energy and excitement.

“When buyers walked in, they weren’t seeing an empty house,” Claire says. “They were seeing kids running around, feeling at home. They were seeing what life could look like there.”

That had a powerful effect, especially on parents. Sometimes buyers assume kids need oversized bedrooms or dedicated playrooms. But when they saw toddlers happily playing in the home’s existing layout, those assumptions faded.

“There’s something so aspirational about that,” Claire adds. “You want your kids to love where they live.”

And the impact didn’t end when the music stopped. Photos and videos from the event made their way to social media, where the listing's visibility surged.

“Even having a reel out there just made it look approachable and comforting,” Claire says. The content sparked new inquiries—and one of those social media leads is now in escrow.

Lessons for today’s market

In a slower housing market, traditional strategies—list the home, stage it, wait for offers—are falling flat. That’s why agents like Claire and Sam are rewriting the playbook.

“In this market, I think you have to really actively sell,” Claire says.

Every listing is styled like an ad, complete with fresh florals, mood-driven staging, and high-quality photography. And yes, sometimes that means throwing a baby rave.

Compared to most agents on L.A.’s Westside, Claire admits they “overspend,” but by design. It’s an approach rooted in the belief that buyers are looking to connect with something more powerful and esoteric than a layout or square footage.

Now, the O'Connors are leaning even harder into experience-driven showings. For an upcoming Hills listing, the agents are planning a cacao ceremony and sound bath—an event and open house tailored for couples drawn to quiet luxury and hillside views.

“It’s really the idea of bringing to life the soul of a home,” Claire says. And in today’s market, that soul might be what seals the deal.