How Real Is Real Estate Reality TV? The Answer Might Surprise You
Over the years, a slew of reality TV shows that glamorize the real estate industry have popped up on networks like HGTV and Netflix. But just how realistic are they?
To find out, we evaluated eight popular shows that may appeal to investors. While most are focused on redesign efforts and fail to consider the practical aspects of investing, a few offer realistic tips and relatable challenges that make them worth watching.
Flip or Flop
Flip or Flop ended in 2022 after airing for 10 seasons on HGTV. The series follows formerly married real estate agents Christina Hall and Tarek El Moussa, who began flipping houses in Orange County, California, after the 2008 real estate crash. They typically make all-cash offers on foreclosures, which they renovate and sell for a profit.
The 70% rule of house flipping is a guideline house flippers use to ensure sufficient profits—it says you shouldn’t spend more than 70% of the home’s expected after-repair value, less any repair costs, on a distressed home. But Tarek and Christina tended to take bigger risks when choosing a property, which is likely to make things interesting.
For example, an episode in the final season, “Red Hot Flip,” shows the duo making a $500,000 offer on a home they hope to sell for $700,000, with quoted repair costs of $120,000. They note that low inventory in 2022 leaves them with few choices.
Several obstacles come up, including necessary repiping, which pushes their repair costs to $140,000. But they manage to get a $856,500 offer on the house because of the hot market, leaving them with $187,025 in profit after closing costs. That’s a 27.9% return on investment (ROI), which is just slightly below the average of 27.5% for home flips completed in the second quarter of 2023, according to Attom Data.
Most house flippers who aren’t also reality TV celebrities might turn away from a project with such slim profit margins, rather than hoping to get lucky with an offer above asking.
Stay Here was only around for one season in 2018 on Netflix, but it’s one of the few highly rated reality TV shows that showcases the optimization of vacation homes for added revenue potential. Designer Genevieve Gorder joins real estate expert Peter Lorimer to help property owners across the country boost their occupancy and average daily rates.
Talent Acquisition Lead
3moThis is amazing!!!!!! I love it! So So good.