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I heard this term coined once. I think it originated with the character "Carrie" on "Sex and the City", who somehow was able to afford an apartment in glamerous New York City in a beautiful brownstone walk-up simply by writing the occasional "relationship" advice column for a newspaper. "House Porn" generally means the presentation of unrealistic living quarters in comparison to the financial means and/or occupation of the resident or character in a T.V. series or in film.
Tonight, bored with the repeats on Food Network, I decided to give House Hunters on HGTV another try. What do I find?
Two very young home buyers, he a struggling song writer, and she, just a receptionist for some record company in Nashville, yet they were somehow able to qualify for a mortgage of, get this, HALF A MILLION DOLLARS! Yes, the top of their budget was $500,000, for these two youngsters, both obviously in their mid-twenties of even younger. The girl already owned a very suitable, attractive home, but of course, that would never do because apparently, you absolutely needed 3000 or more of square feet to "start a family".
Maybe I should introduce them to my Aunt and Uncle here in North Carolina who, somehow very successfully, raised five children in a house with just two bedrooms and 1 bath. I know thats a little extreme by today's standards, but now I remember, once again, why I no longer tune in to watch House Hunters on HGTV.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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That doesn't seen much to me, maybe your area is a lot less expensive than here. My daughter and her husband are about that age and just bought their first house in Seattle, a bit smaller and 100 years old for the exact same price.
Here where I live east of Seattle the median home price is $597,652.
I heard this term coined once. I think it originated with the character "Carrie" on "Sex and the City", who somehow was able to afford an apartment in glamerous New York City in a beautiful brownstone walk-up simply by writing the occasional "relationship" advice column for a newspaper. "House Porn" generally means the presentation of unrealistic living quarters in comparison to the financial means and/or occupation of the resident or character in a T.V. series or in film.
A while back I read an article that showed every TV show and how much the living arrangements were in real life. I remember being surprised by the cost of the apartment on the tv show Friends. In the real world it was like a million dollar apartment or something.
Last edited by fallingwater; 01-15-2011 at 06:37 PM..
Reason: spelling
"House Porn" to me means just looking at super-yummy, aspirational, and yes, sometimes unobtainable real estate. Veranda and Architectural Digest come to mind.
I love love love to look at other people's houses. I admit I'm something of a voyeur.
Usually,the only time I really get that feeling when watching HGTV is when folks are shopping for their $1 million-plus vacation home in a tropical location or when watching "Selling New York".
When I see a young couple in a pricey market, usually I just sort of cringe for them instead. I mean it's easy to sit here in smalltown Midwest and think that 500K is a lot for a house, but the reality is that in some major cities (Chicago/SF/NYC) that's just the starting price point.
ah but Nashville is not in a HCL area! i agree with those of you that said it's ridiculous. you dont need anywhere near 2000 sqft to start a family. we lived in a 900 sq ft home in a high COL area when we had our son, and we were fine. some people just dont get that if a house has a good layout and adequate storage, you dont need more square feet.
i know in our home which is just under 1400 sqft, there are some rooms that are bigger than they should or need to be. i wish i could redistribute, but it's not possible since they are on different floors.
Looking at some of the young couples who buy the $500,000 houses I can't help but wonder how many of them are going to end up in foreclosure/short sales.
I think it does give an unrealistic impression to young people just starting out. I love HGTV but it's not realistic for most people to be that young and buying the places they do on the show. Every once in a while I'll catch an episode that is "real" but most feature people whose budgets are the exception, not the norm.
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