real estate buying

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Good morning. Even in a sinking housing market, Cable TV still loves house-flippers. But as Meg James reports in today’s L.A. Times, market realities might force these shows to take a turn to the dark side.

‘The question is: How much will producers and networks have to shift to keep current with the changing circumstances of the real estate market?’ said advertising exec David Scardino. ‘A lot of these shows are uplifting and feel good, some people get burned but not too badly. But are those stories going to get darker? How much real reality will they let in?’

Carlos Ortiz, exec producer of ‘Flip That House’: ‘When people lose money, we are going to show them losing money,’ Ortiz said. ‘We’re not going to spin everything so there are rainbows and bunnies at the end of every show.’

Robert Sharenow of cable network A&E predicts programs such as ‘Flip This House’ would endure beyond ‘this hiccup in the market.’

Sharenow: ‘The show is kind of recession-proof. If there are more foreclosures, that will make flipping opportunities more readily available. Even if the profit margins are slimmer, there will still be plenty of challenges and pressure and drama. It turns the heat up on the drama when times are tougher.’

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