The real estate market is pretty bad and people are taking unconventional approach to try and sell their home. This Beach house in Yachats, Oregon is being put on as the first prize of an essay contest! The house is appraised at $575,000 and located right on the beach. The entry fee for this contest is $200, and all you have to do is write an essay in the theme of 'I/We want to win this home in home in Yachats because...' in 100 words or less.

The contest started on January 2nd 2008, and last day of entry is April 30th 2008. They require at least 3000 entries otherwise it may be cancelled due to insufficient entries. About 2000 entries have been received so far. You can see updates on the entries on their Website.

The success of a contest like this would depend on its publicity. As more people find out about the contest, more entries are likely to come. The owners are going through various marketing activities including posting the house and contest everywhere they can on the Internet, advertising in local radio, tv, and news papers. The house is open for a visit every weekend. Although most entries are coming from the neighborhood cities, entries from 29 states have been received so far. There are even entries from Americans living in the middle east!

Why a contest, but not a lottery?

You may think that depending on the decisions of some independent judge is not very reliable for a contest like this, and it would be better to just have a lottery with a $200/ticket. However, making it a lottery will have legal implications pertaining to various state law. Making it a contest opens it up to all the states without much legal complications.

You can apply online or personally at the house during the open house every weekend. 

They have 3 more weeks and a 1000 more entries to go and it will be interesting to see how the contest ends up.