Chances are you’ve found yourself in an HGTV binge session at some point, watching multiple episodes or entire seasons of Property Brothers, House Hunters and the like. We do that, too, at the McGee household!
Those real estate reality shows are fun to watch but nobody really believes that they represent how a real estate transaction happens … do they? (You’d be surprised!)
Just in case you someday find yourself on your seventh episode of something like Love It or List It and you start to lose your common sense, here’s a quick look at five myths from reality TV real estate shows:
Myth #1: Buyers look at three homes and decide to purchase one of them.
Truth: Sometimes a buyer will fall in love right away and buy the first home they see, or maybe the second … but according to the National Association of Realtors, the average homebuyer tours 10 homes as a part of their search.
Myth #2: The houses the buyers are touring are still for sale.
Truth: Most of what you see on these shows is staged for TV. Many of the homes shown are already sold and off the market.
Myth #3: The buyers haven’t made a purchase decision yet.
Truth: Since there is no way to show the entire home-buying process in a 30-minute show, TV producers often choose buyers who are further along in the process and have already selected a home to buy.
Myth #4: If you list your home for sale, it will ALWAYS sell at the open house.
Truth: This would be great if it were true! Open houses are sometimes an important marketing tool to expose a home to buyers in your area, but they are only one piece of the overall marketing of your home. In our experience, homes rarely sell as the result of an open house — instead, they typically sell during regular showing appointments.
Myth #5: Homeowners decide to sell their homes after a 5-minute conversation.
Truth: Similar to the buyers portrayed on the shows, many of the sellers have already spent hours deliberating the decision to list their homes and move on with their lives and goals.
The bottom line? Enjoy these shows (we do!) but keep in mind that, despite the “reality TV” label, they’re not an accurate representation of what it’s like to buy or sell a home!
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