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Producers defend against claims of ‘unreal’ estate expectations

Property agents raise questions about homes on Location Location Location Australia, The Block and Luxe Listings Australia.

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TV property shows have come under fire for setting unrealistic expectations, including Location Location Location Australia, The Block and Luxe Listings Australia.

Real Estate Buyers Agents Association of Australia (REBAA) president Cate Bakos said Location, Location, Location’s Mitch & Mark were putting viewers at risk of purchasing inferior properties for over-inflated prices.

She noted one Melbourne home recommended was on a busy truck route in the west, while REBAA Queensland representative Melinda Jennison said info around one Queensland home did not disclose it was subject to the Brisbane River Flood Overlay.

Ms Bakos added that there had been no evidence in early episodes of how home values were assessed before buyers made offers, nor of pest and building inspections, engineering reports or negotiations.

But an Endemol Shine Australia representative said Location, Location, Location included licenced buyer’s agents conducting “background work” that exercised due diligence consistently to ensure the best process for its buyers, as well as financial and legal checks.

“Mitch and Mark worked extensively with our property research team and with the couples to fully understand their brief, budget, and parameters, to ensure that everyone was entirely comfortable and understood the process completely,” they said.

“All negotiations as part of the auction or private sale process were carefully considered and followed extensive research and experience by Mitch, Mark and the broader team.”

Meanwhile Block auction regular and Advantage Property Consulting buyer’s advocate Frank Valentic questioned if thid year’s Hampton East homes could sell at $4.5m to cover renovation costs above their $3.5m purchase prices. He suggested homes would have to sell at a loss or risk auction disaster.

Property Buyer boss Rich Harvey, a former REBAA president, also suggested some homes on Luxe Listings Sydney
provided a snapshot into the “theatre” of real estate — but warned some scenarios were “staged”.

“Obviously TV shows thrive on drama, jeopardy and the personal backstory of the buyers, vendors and their high-flying agents, so it’s not necessarily a true reflection of the typical steps a buyer’s agent would take,” he said.

The Herald Sun even claimed some homes featured on Luxe Listings were only presented for entertainment purposes, when in reality their owners were “never going to sell”.

3 Responses

  1. Luxe Listings is fake from the top down for sure, and as if Mark and Mitch had anything to do with working through the brief. Give it a rest. The Block is the only true Reno show on tv but even that’s jumped the shark with property prices.

  2. I don’t want to watch a program showing people buy houses that are out of budget for the majority of the population. This is why I lost interest in the previous season of Love It or List It Australia, their reno and purchase budgets were far beyond what most Australians would spend.

  3. Staging real estate shows is common practice. Its no secret that the popular House Hunters series in the US uses couples who have just purchased a home, then includes that home along with 2 others to fabricate a “search”. It guarantees an outcome every episode. Still I prefer that to the pointless “Escape to the Country” UK series where real buyers are often shown three homes yet choose none of them.

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