One huge TV addiction here at The Sidecar is HGTV's House Hunters and House Hunters International. For those of you who aren't familiar, these shows follow a person (or couple) looking to buy a house in a certain city. Through the help of a realtor, they look at 3 options and then must choose which one is best for them. Simple concepts work very well on television, and you can't get much simpler than this. The production values are quite high: the camera work is usually spot on and looks glorious in HD. The jaunty music and soothing narration by Andromeda Dunker add a great level of professionalism to the proceedings. But the true star of these shows is the real estate. And lots and lots of envy.
Sue (my blog partner-in-crime) and I live in Los Angeles. Living in America's 2nd largest city means that we pay more for apartments that would be cheaper in other towns. In September 2008, the median price for a single-family home in Los Angeles is $360,000. Now, that's the median price from a few years ago. Based on the same numbers, the average price for a house in the Watts neighborhood was $162,000 and West Los Angeles was $1.2 million. If you want to live in an area that's remotely safe, the home price will be way more than $360,000.
With that in mind, here's where the envy comes in. The above clip from House Hunters shows a couple in Wisconsin looking at a 4 bedroom house for $249,000. You can't get a 4 bedroom house in LA for $249,000, no matter what area you live in. But through the show, you can watch this bland couple act out something that is out of reach for many city dwellers: buying a house (or a relatively large house). And with this show being on every night of the week, you can see multiple houses at varying amounts. Hell, in one episode, there was a couple in Detroit buying a 3 bedroom house for $50,000. Sure, you have to live in Detroit, but it's $50,000. For a house! You see what I mean? That's why this show is so addicting. You can vicariously shop for houses you won't ever buy in places you (most likely) will never live without getting off your couch and (most importantly) spending a dime.
And it's not just here in the US. For a taste of the international version, let's travel to Trinidad:
Not only is this family moving to the Caribbean, the husband's getting a housing stipend on top of it. I don't know about you, but I would love it for my job to pony up $5,700 a month to rent a house. Frequently on House Hunters International, they feature families relocating for work. Or a singleton moving to a new country to start up a job. Quite often, they are bland people who frequently want "modern" over "old-fashioned", which basically means "no personality" over "character and charm". Every now and then you get a few good buyers who embrace the new country with verve and you root for them. But that's every now and then.
Yes, there's often yelling at the TV while I'm watching House Hunters. I yell at the buyers that they don't appreciate what they're seeing (don't get me started on the International episode in Florence, Italy). I yell that they don't appreciate how cheap the houses are. I yell that they make poor choices for the houses they invariably pick. But it doesn't matter. I'll keep watching, and HGTV will keep cranking them out. 'Cause House Hunters is the kind of real estate porn that keeps on giving... and I'll keep on taking.
-- Jon
OMG, I freaking LOVE Househunters, *especially* HHInternational. Yes! House Porn! Bring it!
Posted by: scribblegurl | 03/05/2012 at 02:11 AM