Looking to renovate your home this summer? Are you getting clues from that HGTV show? Wait! Take some time to pause and think how much "Realty" there is in "Reality TV".
A recent feature by Remodeling Magazine revealed that some shows mislead people on home renovation costs and activity.
"A lot of these shows tend to glorify the low cost," Craig Knott, owner of Houseworks Unlimited in Washington, D.C. told the magazine. "Not just that it can get done in three hours, but that the costs are very low."
Knott tried watching a couple of shows but couldn't get past two or three episodes. But, what exactly are these shows doing to its audience?
"I think that homeowners ... believe they're going to get a Taj Mahal. It's unrealistic," Mike Holmes, host of HGTV's "Holmes on Holmes" told the magazine.
Holmes is famous for his cynical attitude towards the typical home remodeling shows and therefore, he wants to educate people through his own show. He apparently "hate-watches" the remodeling programs and rolls his eyes on the nonsense shown on TV.
A team at Castle Building & Remodeling agrees with Holmes' resolve to educate the audience about house renovations. They launched a web series that document real-life home renovating projects. Below are a few samples:
However, reality shows are not just flights of fancies. Some developers say the TV shows are giving clients new home-renovation ideas and are also helping the builders keep up with current trends. Of late, mud rooms, bathrooms and kitchen remodels have picked up pace.
The trends reflect a macro effect overall. According to a recent report by the Insurance Journal, home remodelling projects have increased across the country.
"After the crisis, we saw policies that were strictly for vacant properties and no renovation. Now we are starting to see renovations coming back and our carriers are excited by it," Dena Martin, vice president of commercial lines for Anderson & Murison - an independent property wholesale firm based in L.A., told the publication.
Explaining the trend, Houzz.com vice president Liza Hausman told the Columbus Dispatch:
"The majority of Houzz homeowners undertaking renovation projects are choosing to do so because they want to stay in their home, not because they can't afford to move."
