A system for marketing real estate includes a venue, such as an open house, containing potentially interested and qualified real estate buyers controlled by a venue operator. A data gathering means, such as a computer terminal, controlled by a supplier of goods or services to the real estate industry or a promoter, permits the buyers to enter contact and real estate preference information into a database. The contact information includes the buyer' s name, address, telephone and facsimile numbers, e-mail address and times to be reached. The real estate preference information includes the buyer' s desired location, building size, lot size, number of rooms of a particular specification, climate control features, other building features, lot features and location features. The system yields customer contacts that result from information entered into the terminal. An agreement between the venue operator and the supplier or promoter provides for sharing revenues resulting from sales or rentals based on the information gathered. Software running on the computer terminal provides user-friendly instructions for real estate buyers to enter contact and preference information into the terminal. The information collected at the computer terminal in the venue may be relayed to a central location for addition to a master database. The master database provides means to track the origin of real estate contacts resulting from the collected information. The information entered into the database further includes responses to a contest displayed in connection with the data gathering means.