Ideas for new HGTV shows to help the housing bust
Filed under: Real Estate
One reader of my recent piece on HGTV's role in the housing bubble suggested that HGTV is out of touch with the realities of the new housing market, and continues to run shows like My House is Worth What? that focus on rapidly appreciating real estate prices and real estate as an "investment" that builds tens of thousands of dollars in equity over just a couple years.As a longtime fan of HGTV, I agree with this assessment. It might just be time for HGTV to revamp its lineup and offer some shows that reflect that state of the housing market now. I'm serious about three of these and facetious about one, and will leave you to decipher which is which:
- Sold Short! -- This weekly half-hour show would profile a real estate short-sale from both sides -- the opportunistic home buyer looking to score a good deal in a tough market and the seller looking to bail out a bad investment with his sanity, dignity, and credit score in tact. The show would give buyers and sellers at home an idea of what they can expect when they get involved with the short-sale process. Interviews with bank employees and real estate
- Fizzbo -- The titles is based on the popular pronunciation of the acronym FSBO, or For-Sale By Owner. This show would follow the trials and tribulations of sellers to save on the expense of a real estate agent by selling their homes on their own. With so many home owners having watched their equity decline over the past couple years, this option seems poised to gain popularity with penny-pinchers. This show would show what happens when it works and when it doesn't, and give home owners ideas about whether it's right for them.
- Buy it, Lose it, Loot it -- With foreclosures at record levels, many home owners are pissed off and broke when their homes go into foreclosure. In many cases this leads to vandalism and looting in the days before they move. HGTV's team of unemployed contractors would descend on homeowners facing eviction at the eleventh hour and teach them how to strip homes of valuable metals, dump paint onto carpets.
- Downsizing -- This series would follow families as they look to sell their large single-family homes to move into much smaller apartments or condos because of job losses and pay cuts. It would follow the emotional turmoil and the letdown of moving into less glamorous digs but at the end families would learn that they are not defined by their stainless steel appliances and crown molding, and that sharing rooms isn't as bad as HGTV had taught us.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
1-07-2009 @ 1:38PM
Nick said...
Amen, Zac! Another example of how out-of-touch HGTV is with its viewers is they were running 'Island Dream Homes' on House Hunters the same week Congress was first considering the $750m bailout back in late September. The quirky, fun little shows like Carol Duvall, Rezoned, Design on a Dime, and Decorating Cents that focus on budget-friendly design and remodeling have been canceled and/or relegated to early weekday mornings. In their place we've got materialistic greedfests like My House Is Worth What?, Sleep On It, and the aforementioned House Hunters.
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1-07-2009 @ 2:26PM
Ciji Ware said...
May I add my agreement about HGTV's inability to face this major housing meltdown--though I love their decorating tips like the rest of us housing fanatics.
How come they haven't noticed, also, that 77 million baby boomers and 14 million war babies wil inevitably downsize domestically in the next decades?
I've written extensively about this subject in my book "Rightsizing Your Life: Simplifying Your Surroundings While Keeping What Matters Most" (Springboard Press) which the Wall Street Journal selected as "One of the Top 5 Books on Retirement" in 2007 and on my semi-active blog The New Nest which lives on the book's website www.rightsizingyourlife.com
It's a new world out there, HGTV...better get on board...
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2-14-2009 @ 6:05PM
Joyce Becker said...
I have a feeling it was shows like the ones seen on HGTV that brought a lot of people into house buying when they really couldn't afford to be there in the first place. It always looked so easy on those programs, if a house had a fireplace and granite counter tops they were just splendid, folks didn't seem to notice much of anything else, like all the other expenses of owning a home such as taxes, insurance etc. I noticed people turning up their noses up at perfectly nice kitchens and bathrooms as they were so 80's or 90's, everything had to be updated, without a care for the cost. No wonder a lot of these buyers are not in foreclosure. These programs never seemed to tell the truth, only the joys of having a back yard for their dogs, and an office, a master suite with a walk-in closet and double sink in the bathroom. HGTV was as bad as the lenders giving the sub-prime loans.
1-07-2009 @ 3:49PM
J.J. said...
What great ideas. I agree. It's time to relegate"My House is worth What?" to the after midnight hour and bring back shows on how to make crafts to sell or landscaping on a shoestring or repairs made by female homeowners or creative ideas people are using across the country to sell or rent their homes. I especially like the writer's idea of "downsizing". It's ridiculous to watch some folks on "House Hunters" who are looking for a bigger home because their 3-bedroom, 1 1/2 bath ranch is too small for a couple and two infant babies. Crazy! I grew up in NY city and shared a full size bed with my older sister until I was 14 years old -- (that's when she got married). My other 4 siblings slept together on 2 bunkbeds. Why do people now need so much square footage? The result is parents don't bond with their children and siblings grow up and sue each other on TV... Come on HGTV -- time to reassess programming. Time to show people how to live in smaller homes, and how to decorate on the cheap, and how to sell when you're already in a financial hole. Get with reality. Everyone's feeling the pinch.
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1-08-2009 @ 9:55PM
Carole J. said...
I just wanted to say HGTV used to be the main show I watched. But I seldom watch it now because I don't want to watch people searching for a house to buy or trying to figure out how much
their house is worth so they can make it even nicer. HGTV needs to have more shows like "color splash" or " devine design" or design on a dime" etc...There was nothing but reruns for the holidays except for a small few. I was very disapointed. HGTV has evolved into a not so fun show.
Thats my opinion and I am happy to hear others say something like that..
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1-14-2009 @ 2:24PM
mary Avila said...
I agree.
I too was hooked on hgtv. but lately nothing really connects with me, I miss color splash and the yard shows on how to do your own stuff.
1-28-2009 @ 1:48PM
William said...
I agree 100% with the For Sale by Owner show. Selling without an agent means that you don't need to pay 5% commission to an agent. That's $15,000 - $25,000 in savings. It's wise to use that money to reduce your asking price and sell quicker.
I saw an HGTV show last week (I think it was Property Virgins or something like that...). It showed young couples with no money down buying a home that was above their price range. And then they moved in and spent $20,000 installing a new deck and a hot tub. It was filmed in 2005. This couple is the reason for the economic crisis!!! Why are they replaying shows like this?
William
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