SFGate

One recent evening, a high-energy crowd buzzed through the Palm’s condo sales office South of Market to a pulsing bossa nova beat. A social scientist looking for a demographic group to profile would throw in the towel, pick up a neon green cocktail (it matches one of the logo colors) and simply mingle.

Singles and pairs of every persuasion, ethnicity and age group filled the room and created a smooth metro vibe.

On the walls, flat-screen monitors showed virtual tours of the high-end condos for sale. The camera panned through the kitchen and into the living room, giving viewers a peek out the balcony before sliding down the hallway and into a bedroom.

It was the most complete model-home tour anyone there was taking; all of the units were still under construction upstairs, and myriad codes prohibit anyone from tramping upstairs to step through what might become their front door.

Architectural models, 3-D animations, examples of bathroom and kitchen fixtures, and enthusiastic sales agents provided the fodder to engage the imaginations of potential buyers.

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