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Do you think (overall) the effect of HGTV and similar networks on buying and selling has positive or negative?
From my perspective (as a buyer)...there are some positive things and negative things about it. I've gotten lots of good staging ideas from some of the HGTV shows and as a result, I think our house is staged really well.
On the downside, I think HGTV has set up some unreasonable expectations in buyers for example - that all kitchens MUST have granite countertops and stainless appliances.
Some buyers - especially first time ones - absolutely cannot see past furnishings & paint colors.
It's super frustrating sometimes.
And it's usually the ones at the lower price points - under $150K - who turn up their nose when they don't see the holy trinity: hardwood, granite & stainless.
I think it's a much bigger symbol of people's general sense of entitlement - but I'll save my thoughts on that whole ball of wax for a different time.
I agree. I think it has a negative effect on setting buyer expectations. Having been in both places (buyer and seller) some of the things their TV buyers are looking for make me shake my head! They want everything for nothing! I was a first-time home buyer at one point in time too and I never picked on carpet or paint unless the cost of remediation is just way too much. My realtors have from the get-go taught me to look beyond the cosmetics and we have subscribed to that to this day.
HGTV though has a positive effect on decorating ideas, although after so many of them, I feel oversaturated. There are too many shows that show no distinguishable difference from the next. Helpful is the staging one to a certain degree...gives one ideas when selling.
TV networks like HGTV exist to help their ADVERTISERS. Most of the ads I see on that network are for places that sell furniture and home improvements.
The "advertising overhead" of things like granite counter tops is quite large, and places like Home Depot have huge mark-up. Granite is a nice durable choice for countertops, I have no problem with that becoming a "standard"...
I have complained from both sides of the aisle -- too many sellers do practically nothing to make their homes the least bit 'presentable' and too buyers expect every property they see to a paragon of good design.
I think advertisers like to "create a need" and they accomplish that...
Staging and remodeling are not the same thing. Staging is arranging your furnishings and decor in a way that shows the home to its best potential and makes it look like a home someone would want to live in (decluttering, fresh flowers, fresh paint, detail cleaning, furniture arranging, etc). Generally there does not have to be a huge cost in staging. Putting granite countertops and stainless appliances in your kitchen is remodeling and that's a whole 'nother can of worms (a very expensive can of worms!)
Color is another issue on all of the staging/real estate shows--the whole "Everything must be neutral (boring)" mandate. Again, because people just can't see past a red wall in a dining room or a bright yellow kitchen and it ruins the whole house for them even though it is easily changed. I knew when I bought this house 6 years ago that I would be leaving, and still I stupidly painted some rooms because I couldn't stand the white. I paid for it this spring when I had to repaint everything bland in order to put it on the market! (of course we could have kept the color, but the implication was that it would take much longer to sell, especially in this market.)
We also had to do a little kitchen work 2 years ago--went for cherry and quartz for resale more than for our personal preference--we did however draw the line at stainless! ;-)
Color is another issue on all of the staging/real estate shows--the whole "Everything must be neutral (boring)" mandate. Again, because people just can't see past a red wall in a dining room or a bright yellow kitchen and it ruins the whole house for them even though it is easily changed. I knew when I bought this house 6 years ago that I would be leaving, and still I stupidly painted some rooms because I couldn't stand the white. I paid for it this spring when I had to repaint everything bland in order to put it on the market! (of course we could have kept the color, but the implication was that it would take much longer to sell, especially in this market.)
We also had to do a little kitchen work 2 years ago--went for cherry and quartz for resale more than for our personal preference--we did however draw the line at stainless! ;-)
Going to disagree - only if the wall colors were done tastefully, flowed with the rest of the house and looked great.
I've sold houses with bright blue walls, red walls, green walls - not in the same house, but you get my drift - and they sold because they were showplaces. (My bright blue wall house sold in two days in a lukewarm market with multiple offers - and one very sincere letter submitted by the winning buyer.)
Buyers can't see past clutter and "old" decorating style. Make it look young and hip and BAM! stick a sold sign on it and your done. (Disclaimer: this works in my area for the price point that still selling fairly decently ... which is $150'ish.)
Negative. Ugh - I avoid most of those shows because everything is so boring. I mean, does everyone in America really desire low quality beige furniture and beige walls?
I prefer to see homes that reflect the owners tastes and style and were not decorated with a few hundred dollars, a Wal-Mart gift card, and some over the top "designer".
What happened to cherishing the funky tile you inherited when you bought that 1935 house? Or how about dry cleaning those fantastic antique chintz pillows from grandma instead of buying pillows with a geometric or modern floral design (how original )?
One of the issues I have with the fix-it-to-sell-it programs is on the seller side. Those type shows imply that you can turn a house around with a $2,000 budget and some elbow grease. I pity the buyers who buy those homes. I hope the homes themselves were good deals because most of those *fixes* are shoddy at best.
I wonder how many real sellers are deluded into thinking they can do a quality overhaul for $2,000?
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