The case to axe property shows...

I can’t work it out – my energy bills are up 40 percent in a year, food prices up 30 percent, petrol up 20 percent, and my house has lost a tenth off its value – so why should I (and this is an open question to the commissioners) give a stuff about Artexing my alcove?
I’d love to make an MDF radiator cover, or re-cover on old chair with some old knickers, but I have a little problem called the credit crunch!
When I’m desperate to shore up, build a moat and sit-pretty, I’m bombarded (still) by property shows desperate to tell me why my house isn't selling (less drab carpet, and more feeling skint methinks)?
Take 'Open House' today on BBC1. The opening gambit was, 'No matter the state of the property market, a well prepared house will always appeal to buyers.'
I see what they're saying, but the fact is there ARE NO SODDING BUYERS BECAUSE IT'S NEAR IMPOSSIBLE TO GET A MORTGAGE!
There was a reason we didn’t run Mercedes commercials during the Diana funeral!
In my mind that makes 'Open House', and anything else house-related redundant.

Yet, look at the schedules. Daytime is chocked full of them, 11am
onwards is house D.I.Y time (btw - open house has just told the buyer
that £470k is reasonable for her 2-bed town house…)

So, here's a challenge...
Bearing in mind there's a credit crunch on, what would you replace property shows with? Or how would you fiddle with current formats (any format, not just property) to make them relevant?

Fair points, but surely it always pays to make the most of your home to maximise its value, especially if you're at risk of going into negative equity.

Agreed. But when we're talking about some people choosing between eating and heating, it doesn't help throwing shelving into the equation!

I think you're right - however there's nothing wrong with home-improvement shows per se; but the focus went from "fun makeovers" (a la Changing Rooms and 60 Minute Makeover) to "Increase your property value".

That was in response to house prices escalating out of control - something the market was always going to correct.

Its definitely time to find a new format to litter daytime with.

I don't know what the next big idea is going to be - but whatever it is, could it not involve that torn-faced article Lorne Spicer?

I reckon they will just stick more antiques/collectible related shows on

Cash in the Attic followed by Collectibles in the Attic followed by Lorne Spicer in the Attic etc

Bring back a good old morning gameshow I'd say.

I dis like most of those show, but I like Dickson real deals,

How about a Gameshow like turnabout or something? or even another Long standing Aussie show? shorltand road

I'm wondering how long Homes Under The Hammer can stumble on for, given the current climate in the housing market.

It's always been "property porn" at its most indulgent - celebrating the quick buck that can be made by wealthy landlords who already have bags of cash in the first place, at the expense of those who can't get on the ladder.

They seem to have started filming a new series around the end of last year which is airing at the moment, but because each report is filmed in two halves, with a "revisit" taking place many months later (i.e. in the first half of this year) the effects of the credit crunch are impacting badly on the profits made by the buyers on the show, effectively killing off the show's raison d'etre.

I don't think they'd have commissioned this series if they could have foreseen what would happen this year.

I notice they've thrown lots of footnotes into the show, as it obviously painted a misleading picture in the past. They now display captions giving the date of the valuation and the date of the auction, and when they talk about profit they're careful to say "pre-tax profit before fees have been deducted" - something they should have made clearer from day one.

Ironically I've seen a few young couples on the show who said in their interviews that they caught the auction bug by watching HUTH in the first place, and got a nasty shock when they found they had to pay stamp duty, solicitors fees, leasehold/maintenance charges, income tax on profits, etc, as the show only dealt in gross figures and never mentioned any of this.

But when HUTH is inevitably axed I do hope Martin Roberts is given another vehicle on TV as he's such a jolly character.

But the key words you use there are 'some people'. Yes there are people having trouble making ends meet, but there are still plenty of people heading through the checkouts of B&Q every day.

Indeed, those that are struggling will hopefully be sensible enough to not spend money on such non-essentials. The rest of us are carrying on as usual

Maybe TV should be encouraging us to go out and buy DIY equipment and new houses, if everyone just stopped spending money the economy will only get worse!

The BBC1 daytime shows have always been very poor filler programming. Trouble is though if they axe the property shows it'll be the even worse antique shows taking their place.


This issue was discussed on The TV Show some time ago in relation to C4 output, in which I think they agreed to inform viewers before repeats of when they were first shown - although I think most C4 shows have the date come up at points during the show anyway.

Bring back "Open Air"

Ooh. Good call.