Has HGTV Ruined Home Buying? (What First-Time Buyers Should Really Expect)
Okay, maybe “ruined” is dramatic, but HGTV has definitely shaped the way a lot of us think about the home buying process, especially first-time home buyers.
Thanks to endless episodes of buyers walking into three perfectly staged houses before choosing “the one,” there’s now an expectation that your own home search will deliver the same big, goosebump-inducing moment. You open the front door, the music swells, and you just know: this is it.
But in reality? Home buying doesn’t usually work that way. Most buyers see a lot of homes before they decide. The one they end up purchasing might not come with a dramatic “aha” moment at all; it might simply be the one in the right neighborhood, within budget, and with a layout that works for their life. Maybe the bathroom tile isn’t your taste, maybe the kitchen feels dated, maybe the tub caulking has seen better days. None of those things are dealbreakers, but they don’t make for TV magic either.
The Junk Blindness Phenomenon in Real Estate
There’s a phenomenon called junk blindness, and it’s worth keeping in mind when you’re touring homes.
Junk blindness happens when you live with something long enough that you stop noticing it. Think of the pile on your “catch-all” chair or the half-finished project in your garage. You see it every day, so it fades into the background.
When you walk through someone else’s home, you’re seeing their version of junk blindness. They may no longer notice the scuffed baseboards or the outdated light fixture that grabs your attention right away. That doesn’t mean the house isn’t right for you; it just means you’re seeing it with fresh eyes.
Here’s the trick: if you can look past those small things and imagine the bigger picture, you may just find yourself with less competition in a competitive real estate market.
That’s exactly what happened with the home we purchased. The seller refused to prep the house; it was full of bad décor and clutter (we’re talking wallpaper in the shower and wood paneling galore), but we saw through it. Because so many buyers got hung up on the aesthetics, we ended up buying in a very competitive neighborhood with surprisingly little competition.
Seeing Past the HGTV Magic
None of this means you should ignore big problems or compromise yourself into regret. Buying a home is one of the biggest financial decisions you’ll ever make, and with today’s higher home prices, interest rates, and cost of living, the weight of that decision feels heavier than in decades past. You deserve a home that feels right, one you can grow into and be proud of.
But here’s the reality: home buying isn’t about chasing HGTV-level perfection. It’s about focusing on what matters most:
The neighborhood
The budget
The layout
The potential
The rest—paint colors, flooring, fixtures, funky bathrooms—can all be changed. Sometimes the perfect home is hiding under an ugly paint color.
As agents, our role isn’t to push buyers into settling. It’s to help you see both what’s there and what could be there, so you feel confident, not compromised, when you say yes.
The Bottom Line
HGTV hasn’t “ruined” home buying, but it has created unrealistic expectations for many first-time buyers.
And that’s okay. Your “aha” moment might not happen the first time you walk in the door. It might come later, when you’re having coffee in a kitchen you once thought was too weird, but now feels exactly like home.
