Reality check: How Selling Sunset has reshaped the real estate business
As the eighth series of Selling Sunset kicks off on Netflix, we speak to prominent London estate agents to see how these shows have changed their image – and their business
If you’ve always had a secret passion for Homes Under the Hammer, or a bit of a Kirsty and Phil crush, then you’re not alone in your bricks and mortar voyeurism. But these homegrown home shows look, frankly, quaint in the face high-stakes, high-glam property series such as Selling Sunset, the eighth season of which has just debuted on Netflix, and the success of which has spawned a vast array of spin-offs and copy cats covering markets across the globe. And while UK viewers (and estate agents) have mixed feelings about the drama – with the London-based version, Buying London, being axed from the streamer after just one season – expectations at the top of the market are certainly shifting as a result.
According to Knight Frank’s 2024 Global Super Prime Intelligence report, global super-prime sales have risen 66 per cent in the past five years, with total super-prime sales values across the 11 key markets reaching US$33.4 billion in the 12 months to June 2024. And, while your average Joe may be struggling to afford a one-bed flat in the suburbs, it’s thought that the pandemic significantly expanded the super-prime market, with a notable surge in activity in areas like Palm Beach, Miami, and Dubai. And with it, an increased interest in the market – and its players.
With the growth in the super-prime market driven by a broader increase in global wealth, with a 19 per cent rise in those considered ultra-high-net-worth individuals over the past five years, many have set London in their sites for a first, second or third luxury home. And while we all love an inside peek at the lives of the rich and famous, do shows like Selling Sunset accurately reflect the agents – and their buyers?
Jamie Marshall, director at residential agency JLL in Chelsea, thinks buyers find the industry “slightly more intriguing” with the rise of such shows, although he feels it’s more about the postcodes than the teams themselves. “I think the main driver is and will always be the public’s interest in how the other half live,” says Marshall. “If the personalities on screen truly shine and appeal, then the shows will be successful, like one of the original programs, Million Dollar Listing, which I quite enjoyed when it was first released.”
With more and more agents taking to Instagram and TikTok to generate interest in their portfolios, Marshall feels clients are showing an increased interest in digital marketing platforms, which has undoubtedly stemmed, in part, from reality property shows. “There is definitely an argument to start focusing more on the role of digital marketing,” he says. “I believe people really do want to understand the individual more. Some of our most successful videos shot by our incredible marketing team have produced amazing results, which have led to new business being secured.”
Jeremy Karpel is the director of TK International, a Hampstead-based estate agency which has specialised in the sale, letting and acquisition of residential property in and around the extremely wealthy Hampstead area for more than 20 years. He has a slightly less positive view on the impact of property reality TV, and how true a reflection they are of the kinds of clients and homes he deals with.
“The model of Selling Sunset and other similar shows has everything to do with the US super-prime market and very little to do with the UK super-prime market,” Karpel explains. “In the US, buyers and sellers thrive on showing off their wealth and boasting about what price they sold or purchased at. The UK market is the complete opposite. Wealthy buyers, whether they be UK nationals or international buyers invest here in the UK because of the privacy element and because they want to keep their business private. We do not shout about our wealth. And from a professional’s point of view, I see it as rather vulgar.”
However, Karpel admits the rise in these shows has led to a change in the way people perceive the industry. “The type of shows you are seeing refers to a market alien to most buyers out there in the wider marketplace. These shows are produced to make viewers gawk at unattainable properties owned by the rich and famous, at price points well beyond their reach.”
And while the high-stakes drama may be more familiar to IRL estate agents than you might think – “there’s nothing wrong with inter-office competitiveness if it is balanced with common sense and that the aim is to do the very best job for the client!” jokes Karpel – when it comes to the glamour, disappointingly, these TV shows bear little resemblance to the everyday lives of estate agents in London. “We sell properties anywhere between £1,000,000 to say £20,000,000,” says Karpel. “Some of our clients and buyers are famous celebrities or vastly wealthy captains of industry, but rarely do they step out of £1,000,000 Ferraris. They tend to all be very down to earth, dragging their kids behind them, and modestly dressed in sweatpants.”
Marshall agrees that the day-to-day drama is overstated for TV: “When you put big egos into competitive environments where a lot of money is at stake, fireworks can happen! However, most of us who are experienced try to display a bit of decorum and perhaps walk around the block instead of tackling a conflict head-on. The former doesn’t usually end well for anyone concerned.”
Like Marshall, Karpel agrees that it’s important for agents to focus on their public profiles and continue to stir up intrigue and insight through the powerful tools of social media. “There’s no doubt that video content prioritises your online presence and you are kicked up the rankings if you have more of it than your competitors. This trend has certainly been derived from reality shows and negotiators and proprietors are getting better at creating this.”
With Buying London having been axed after just one season, why do they think these shows work better in the US than the UK? “I think the US style is more flamboyant naturally, and therefore, it makes far more interesting TV than our boring British style,” says Marshall.
Karpel agrees: “The US shows are scripted and do not reflect the realities of what really happens in the day-to-day running of a real estate business. Being specific here – and maybe controversial – 50 per cent of the glamorous girls used in these shows are probably not realtors at all, or if they are, they have just qualified. They dress in the middle of the day as if they are going out to a nightclub on a first date with an NFL star or Leonardo di Caprio – this has nothing to do with agency. It might work with a male buyer but certainly not his wife! You are not seeing the real properties or the real buyers and sellers – it’s all done for the TV cameras.”
However, from house hunting to speedy renovating, there’s no doubt that the rise in ‘property porn’ is triggering unrealistic expectations for homeowners and buyers. In the US, the National Survey of Realtors reported that 71 per cent of respondents said TV shows that depict the buying process impacted their business by setting up unrealistic or increased expectations, with 61 per cent saying they set higher expectations for how homes should look.
While we are all trying to live our lives through an effortlessly curated Instagram filter, expectations for perfection within the property industry are no different to the unattainable standards being carted out by the wellbeing, fashion, beauty and travel industries. In the same way we watch Love Island, Big Brother, or even Squid Game, being able to see the distinction between reality and good old fashioned entertainment will always be key. And if the result is boosting the image of hard-working agents – and incentivising them to engage more meaningfully with their clients in a way they understand – then they can’t be all bad. Just don’t expect Christine Quinn to be doing your next walk around.
