House Hunters and House Hunters International are two perennial favorite HGTV reality shows, both of which follow a homebuyer’s adventure as they scout, tour, and finally select a home. We get a peek into the real estate markets all over the world in this highly watched show, touring condos, townhomes, and all sorts of houses during the 30-minute show.
Of course, while this show is considered “reality TV,” you don’t see everything that’s happening as the buyers are looking for their next home, says Ebby Halliday Realtor Cynthia Lopez, who starred in an episode of House Hunters that debuted in January. We got an exclusive interview with Lopez, and she offered a lot of insight into the popular HGTV series.
“I had never really watched the show,” Lopez said with a laugh, but her clients, De’Andre and Tasha were big fans and had already been talking to the production company.
Of course, there are some things that Lopez couldn’t share about filming the show, but she did say that, while it looks like they viewed the three homes that make the show one right after another, “it’s actually filmed over a couple of weeks.”
The camera crews come in, Lopez added, and they’ll have a concentrated few days of filming. A lot of the footage of homes the couple toured with Lopez are lost on the cutting room floor, she said.
“The show is only 30 minutes, and we saw so many properties, sometimes several in a day,” Lopez said. “We saw about 12 homes over a two-week period.”
It was nerve-wracking at times, Lopez said, especially in the lead-up to filming and in the aftermath. But thanks to her supportive team at Ebby, she is looking forward to perhaps working with HGTV on a second House Hunters shoot.
“They were all very supportive,” Lopez said of the Ebby team. “The management hosted watch parties, it was all very thoughtful.”
So, how do you go about getting on a show like House Hunters?
“I had to send in a video, and I thought, you know, this is not going to hurt as far as building my business, with the name recognition,” Lopez said. “People really do love to talk about this show, so I thought that this was definitely going to be a positive experience and a way to highlight our market.”
Lopez says that after the show aired on Jan. 20, former clients have posted messages on her Facebook wall, have called and texted, all sending her kudos. “I was just so pleasantly surprised by the reaction from everyone,” she said.
Of course, not all Realtors love House Hunters, as some feel it gives homebuyers an unrealistic expectation of what the process is like.
“It does take a lot more work that what the 30-minute episode shows,” Lopez said. “The first-time homebuyer, they know that feeling of a competitive market, they hear it from friends, they hear it from me, but they don’t realize what it takes to get into a home in our area until they experience it.”
But De’Andre and Tasha were champs, and made it through the process with such aplomb.
“They are really a wonderful couple, and that I was able to help them find their dream home was just amazing,” Lopez said. “I love matching homes to the people who should live in them. It’s what I really love to do, and I think my clients know that from working with me.”
See the full episode below, or tune into HGTV on March 9 to see Cynthia guide De’Andre and Tasha to their modern-craftsman home in the Dallas suburbs.
