I’d be curious to hear our good real estate editors thoughts as well.

I’ll take advantage of the comment section to answer W’s curiousity.

Flip That THIS House. Is this the show where the seasoned “flipper” comes and gives advice that’s usually ignored? If yes, this is the program that’s a study of human arrogance. Say no more!

Property Virgins Never watched it. I’m going to have to program the DVR now.

House Hunters I really liked until they started doing the international shows which I find less appealing. Like Kat, my favorite part is seeing what they’ve done to the home 3 or 6 months after closing. What’s really funny about this show is that when I’m working with buyers and we tour a home, they’ll say the same things buyers on the show say (e.g., “The size of this room in wonderful.”) and then they stop themselves saying, “I sound like I’m on a TV show!” Another thing I find interesting is that we always only see three houses and usually over a 2-day period. I wonder how many homes in total they’ve actually seen. A good Realtor will narrow the entire search down to 10 houses, a great Realtor to 5 or 6. I’ve heard of other agents who’ve shown 60 houses and am blown away by that. Those are usually the buyers that call to happily tell they finally found the perfect home at an open house and that agent has already written and had their contract accepted. O.o

What’s My Home Worth? I want to see this show travel to somewhere with realistic home prices - like Nashville. You’re home increased in value by $300,000! Not. If they bought a home three years ago, they’ll be extremely lucky it increased by $20,000 (depending on location, price range, etc.). More likely, it will have increased by about 4% to 6% p/year. When buyers look at average homes, in my opinion, they see three things beyond basic layout and location: 1) Flooring, 2) Updated lighting, and 3) Fresh paint. Do those three things, keep the house clean and clutter free, price it right and you will sell without the solid granite counters, 12 shower heads, etc. Again, this would vary depending on your location and price range.

Hidden Potential is a bit of a mystery to me. The buyer has a so-called budget for the house, but typically when they get a loan it’s for the COST (or contract price) of the house. Where do they come up with the $100Grand extra to remodel? Did they somehow obtain that rare sweat equity loan? Those loans are out there, but not often. I know if it’s an FHA loan, the FHA inspector will come back in 6 months to see that the upgrades are done. If they are not they might give the buyer an extension or they could just call the loan which in effect will make the buyer lose the house. Like Kat, I also want to see the “after” pictures.

There you have it. Discuss!

Kathy, They did an episode of “My House is Worth What” in Nashville not too long ago. I think it was a 3000sf home in Bellvue that they bought a couple of years ago for somewhere in the 200k range and made improvements like kitchen renovations with granite, stainless steel, etc. and even added a home theater. The agent that toured their house told them it would be worth over 400k now, which I couldn’t believe.

You can view the episode list for the show on hgtv.com’s website too, and it looks like they’ve done several shows in Nashville and even one in Murfreesboro.

Thanks Kathy. Real estate is an area where I know nothing but find fascinating so I like to pick the brains of people in the business when I get the chance.