As Seen On TV? Not Exactly

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY KRISTIN LENZ -- THE WASHINGTON POST; IMAGES BY HGTV, TLC, BIGSTOCKPHOTO

She pointed to scenes that show couples signing perhaps a single piece of paper before taking ownership of their new homes.

It might not make for the best television, but producers of the home shows should give more information on how long it takes, on average, to buy or sell a home, and a better indication of the amount of paperwork involved in even "easy" transactions, Koehl said.

She said she also is disappointed that the home shows rarely depict the sometimes-tricky negotiations between buyers and sellers. Instead, they can make it appear as though every offer is accepted. And if an initial offer is rejected, the shows make it seem like a simple process to arrive at a compromise, Koehl said.

Unfortunately, in real life, the negotiation process is often complex, involving several rounds of back-and-forth between buyers and sellers, she said.

"Often on these shows, it comes across that you sign one piece of paper and you get a house," Koehl said. "It doesn't accurately reflect the hours it takes to get the papers signed."

This isn't to say that real estate agents dislike the home shows. On the contrary, they say, the shows have helped make their jobs a little easier, especially dealing with sellers.

Gretchen Koitz, an agent with the Bethesda office of Long & Foster, said that she enjoys working with sellers who are also fans of the home shows. "Part of my work is done for me," she said. "I don't have to constantly tell them to pick their dirty laundry off the floor before a showing. I don't have to tell them that some paint would be nice. They see it all the time on the home shows."

The one myth that local agents say they hate to see perpetuated on a home show is that sellers can name their price and get it, no matter what. The shows often picture couples renovating a home and then hearing from their real estate agent that the residence is now worth a certain number of dollars. But rarely do the shows demonstrate that sometimes homes don't sell for what agents say they are worth, especially in today's down market.

Fortunately, that myth hasn't taken hold in the Washington area, agents said, because housing prices here are already so high. When the home shows feature a large house in another part of the country -- especially in a smaller community away from a major metropolis -- the prices seem low in comparison with those here, agents said. Because of this, sellers watching the shows aren't tempted to overprice their homes, Koitz said.

"We are the opposite," she said. "We are such a high-priced market. If anything, we have people who see people paying $600,000 for a mansion in Texas. They come here and see that $600,000 in this region buys you a starter home. We see more misinformation from buyers who are moving here and are amazed at how expensive housing here is."

Local agents say they will always be grateful to the home shows for helping to create a buzz about real estate. During the housing boom, especially, the shows often functioned as advertisements for the investment potential of real estate.

But even this has its downside, said Paul Butterfield, an agent with Re/Max Realty Services in Bethesda.

"The one thing the shows have done is create some serial shoppers," he said. "People now like to look at houses. They come through an open house just to see how the house is decorated. That never used to happen before HGTV.

"That can be a little frustrating as a salesperson," he said. "This new group that just attends open houses for the fun of it, they can clog up a house a little bit."