New Zealanders have always had a love affair with property, so Bayleys national residential manager and former Block auctioneer Daniel Coulson is not surprised that reality television shows that show the joys and pitfalls (and, hopefully, profits) of home renovation dominate TV schedules.
"Reality property shows have helped expand people’s viewpoint," he says.
"They've just intensified that interest to generate profits out of property. But what it has done is give people an expanded viewpoint on what can be done. It’s made people more aware of how property should be presented.”
Channels such as HGTV, Bravo and Three Life are awash with reality property shows – both domestic and international – that revel in the transformation of poorly designed real estate. Viewers tune into Property Brothers, Love It Or List It, House Rules and Homes Under the Hammer to get ideas for their own homes – more often than not when they are getting ready to sell.
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And, with the market starting to slow down, buyers have become increasingly fussy about the type of homes they'll pursue. Not everyone can afford to build their own Grand Design home but the show has raised the bar and expectations.
Bayleys sales agent Victoria Bidwell, who was a judge on the first season of The Block, says that half the fun of these shows is watching the onscreen dramas and personality clashes, but amongst the edited-for-TV ups and downs, there are some lessons on the hard truths of renovation: it can be tiring, there are always unexpected pitfalls (even with a background team of producers and experts on hand) and, at the end of the day, selling a house is competitive.
While American and British shows may shock us with their prices (A whole house for under $100,000! An entire kitchen for just a few grand!) they can provide home renovators with some sobering lessons on how easily a flip can turn into a flop.
The booming property market of the last five years cushioned many a fast-turnaround renovation, as rising markets can often disguise misguided use of investment dollars. Todd Wickenden’s company, Broswick Builders, featured in last year’s Creative Living show, which followed a home renovation in Ponsonby, Auckland. The show ran for only a few weeks, but the actual renovation took over six months, and that’s not counting design and consenting time.
“Those two to four-week time frames you see on property shows, that doesn’t happen in New Zealand – that’s unrealistic,” he says. “Gib-stopping can take a week, painting another week. The TV shows can make it so easy, but the film crew come in once or twice a week.”
In North America, it seems that every renovation involves open living, a double vanity in the master bathroom, acres of granite or marble and, somewhere, a barn door, plus magazine-perfect accessories and styling.
Samurai Builders founder Yusuke Kato, who handles renovations ranging in price from $50,000 to $450,000, says many of those inspired by the fast-paced grand designs they are seeing on TV are unprepared for the reality of the construction process. “Reality is something that some people don’t have a firm grip on when it comes to renovations. You’ve got to do it right. You’ve got to be compliant, you’ve got to know what the legislation is before you start,” he says.
“I think people are a little bit overambitious about what they want to do and probably not cautious enough about what they need to do before they call in the builder. More often than not we are the ones who are preparing quotes that are a big surprise to the clients.”
Fixing self-inflicted problems like bad foundations and unconsented walls may be glamorous on reality TV but not in real life, Kato says. “A lot of the reality TV property and DIY shows, especially the North American ones, are causing us some issues. Sometimes we are renovating homes that other people have poorly had a crack at. Cladding, insulation and structural walls are biggies that you should not be attempting as a home handyman,” he says.
Wickenden agrees, saying he steers clear of properties that have been worked on by have-a-go renovators. “You can’t just go in knocking out walls. You need an experienced builder to do anything structural. It needs consents, engineers, all that.”
However, Bidwell says that television has taught home owners the importance of presentation to make the most of a house. Even where a structural renovation is out of the question, vendors can still make a difference on crucial bits of the house – such as making sure there is flow to outdoors (“sometimes that’s a matter of furniture rearranging”) and updating the entry and kitchen (“old-fashioned paint colours or dated tiles can make a bad first impression”).
"Property shows have had an influence on home staging," she says.
"People now understand the importance of staging a lot more, but are not confident about interior design. They’re witnessing that staged houses are selling for a lot more, a lot quicker."
Additional reporting by Owen Vaughan
