Are the Realtors on HGTV’s ‘House Hunters’ Actual Real Estate Agents?

Have you ever wondered if the realtors on HGTV's 'House Hunters' are actually licensed real estate agents or if they're part of the show's script?

by Michelle Kapusta

Published on October 19, 2018

2 min read

After watching just a few episodes of House Hunters or House Hunters International you have the entire format down pat and can always guess what’s coming next. Still, these popular HGTV shows can be addictive and before you know it you’re spending hours watching people look for their dream homes.

However, because it’s been revealed in the past that not everything viewers see on House Hunters and House Hunters International is real we start to wonder how much is totally fake. And since there have been allegations that some of the actual home buyers are replaced by actors, we immediately think about the real estate agents and if they’re actually realtors or also paid actors.

Here’s the truth about the brokers featured on House Hunters and what it’s really like to be on the show.

Real or fake agents?

If you’re one of those people still bummed out from hearing that some of House Hunters is scripted then you’ll be happy to know that the realtors are not actors. They are actual agents working for real firms.

GuideLive.com interviewed one realtor who appeared on the show. Her name is Leslie Remy and she is the owner and a broker of the real estate firm Astra Realty in McKinney, Texas. After hearing about another agent in San Antonio who was featured on the show, Remy filled out an application and was chosen to do an episode.

But it wasn’t exactly how she thought it would be.

What filming is like

Remy told the outlet that for such a short program, filming was extensive.

“We spent close to eight hours filming one house of the three homes the couple will see,” she said. “It’s a 30-minute show; that’ll probably be less than 10 minutes on TV.” She added that it took that long so the crew could get the best shot.

She also revealed that the wardrobe you choose to wear the day of filming is very important and she was given instructions about what was appropriate. “They told us to wear some solids — not prints — and to bring an extra outfit,” Remy said. “I brought four extra outfits and they were like, ‘nope, nope, nope.'”

In the end, she wore something that she described as “boring” black pants and a solid blue blouse.

How much is scripted?

Of course, anyone who’s seen the now infamous Hooked on Houses blog post, which outed the show for being fake, has one question for Remy: Is everything the prospective buyers say and do scripted?

She says no, but there were times where she and the clients had to repeat certain things in order for production to get the shot they wanted.

“It’s not scripted, so the couple is saying how they really feel about it and their opinions on the home,” she explained. “To get the perfect shot, they have to continue to repeat their opinion over and over again. There were at least four good shots of each room or of each scene.”

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