The problem with real estate reality TV shows is the lack of reality!

Richard- we have the same issue with staging shows.  Most of us don't come in with a wrecking crew and freebies from hardware or appliance stores.   

"If the plethora of real estate reality shows on television has taught the consuming public anything, it’s the fact that television producers do not understand either the local nature of real estate markets in general or the real estate profession as a whole."  Amen...I have encountered several consumers lately that believe that what they saw on TV is reality.

Richard, I can honestly say, and am very proud to admit it, that I have not seen one of these so-called real estate reality programs in years.  What a waste of time.

And I don't believe that I am living in a dream world when I say that.  When I hear the few folks I know who DO watch them talk about what they saw, or what they think they saw... I just have to do my best to hide what is probably a smirk on my face.  Again... what a waste of time.

Reality shows is dipicts a truer sense of where American is or is headed.

Reality TV makes our job look so easy.  Miraculously, Realtors know the perfect 3 or 4 homes, in just the right locations to show the Buyer.  The Buyer selects a house, makes an offer, and it is accepted.  End of show. That's why many think our job is easy.

Thanks for pointing out that what people are watching on reality TV are producers portrayals the real estate business and that our business varies so greatly based on each area.

Richard

It's all about attracting viewers and makiung money. No one REALLY cares about the reality. The sad truth is many people get sucked into believing what they see on the TV, which may be even more dangerous than the headlines. Hollywood knows what grabs attention, and they change shows without an eyeblink if something isn't working.

Jeff

Richard,

And my wife wonders what I'm doing wrong. When you watch these shows, it usually only takes three showings, pick a house, write an offer, and pretty much just move in. I must be doing something wrong.

Rich

Great points Richard.  I have contacted many of the most popular shows MANY times when they do things incorrectly telling them that they have just taught millions of people how to do something wrong.

For some reason they never get back to me.

I hate those darn real estate reality shows.  Real estate is local.  You can't have a show that works on a national scale to be informational at all.  It's pure entertainment.

Richard - I've seen "Selling NY" (because it's half hour away) and Bravo's shows. I always think who do they make all that money??! It doesn't seem too real, but I can't help myself. I love to see the inside of some of these amazing homes so it's good for that.

I don't know why we accept the label "reality" when we know that observation changes behavior, even at the subatomic level. I guess we mean "not fiction". If it were a book, a reality TV show would be a novel.  But a very bad one.

Brad, you speak of observation changing behaviour (and reality) even at the sub-atomic level.  Sounds like Max Planck and his Quantum Mechanics to me.  I find it very interesting how his research over one hundred years ago can be applied both to Quantum Mechanics (and Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle) and to human behaviour and psychology as well.

My favorite quote from all of that continues to be "When you change the way you look at things... the things you look at... change."

Richard - Yes, we've all heard that line: "I saw on H_ _ _ that you can..."

The good news is, it puts people in the mood to buy and sell. We're here to teach the correctly in the area where we work. I have no doubt you do a great job helping folks in Newnan, GA!

I do watch these shows sometimes because 1) it makes good T.V. and 2) you may as well know what your clients are watching and believing.

Hey, Richard!  I included this post in today’s  Last Week’s Favorites.  Please drop by and check it out, and have a great week!

Thank you, Pat, for sending me over, I had missed Richard's blog. I watched those shows for a couple of months, but then the SAMENESS got to me. The "buyers" were not as interesting as my own buyers, and the agent was more of a door opener than what we face every day. 

I agree - 5 years ago - when agents were struggling and being CREATIVE, they were interesting...now, it is all about the hairdo and the mobile office with wi-fi

Richard, I don't watch these shows, or any reality shows to tell you the truth.

OK, I fess up, I cut our cable to almost nothing, so its usually Netflix or public TV for me! And I am glad I did...

Jill in #73:  I never have watched these silly shows, but you have given me some food for thought.  It DOES make lots of sense for me to at least have an idea of what many buyers and sellers are watching... if for no other reason than to make sense for ME about where they get some of the doofus things they come up with in person.

Thanks for an idea I had not thought of.