Attention home sellers and real estate agents: HGTV's popular reality series Buy Me is in Calgary and looking for you.
Head researcher Jan Kaluza says producers for the Montreal-based show, which chronicles the journey from listing to selling, are interested in the stories behind the city's hot real-estate market.
"We wanted to film in Calgary to get a sense of what a boom town it really is. Obviously, Canada being such a huge country, province to province is different in terms of real estate, and Calgary is one of the hottest markets.
"It's interesting because what you can buy in Montreal for a song, wouldn't get you a shoe box (here)."
While the Calgary shows should be entertaining, Kaluza says the fact that homes are flying off the market in days could prove difficult for filming.
"It's going to be very interesting. It's really going to be something we haven't encountered too much in the past filming out east where the market is slower."
Currently, the show has a researcher and a crew on stand-by just waiting for real estate agents and sellers to call with story ideas.
"Obviously, the reasons for selling are very important to us because we like to include a back story," Kaluza says.
"We've done the divorce story. We've done couples getting back together and we've done people moving abroad.
"People say our shows are so full of drama, but I say truth is stranger than fiction. We don't ... put our stamp on it -- we don't interfere with the process. What you see is just what's happening.
"As soon as that for sale sign is hammered in the lawn, we go with it. So people who don't want their lives on TV shouldn't apply," she says.
To submit a show idea, contact Buy Me production manager Craig Hall at craig@sequenceinteractive.com
TV'S HOUSING MARKET
Here's a roundup of some of the more popular TV shows that deal with how to succeed in the real-estate market. These shows often repeat for several airings a week.
Buy Me -- HGTV
Determined real estate agents and disenchanted homeowners work together, under a pressing deadline, to try to sell their homes.
Designed to Sell - HGTV
Sellers are given a $2,000 budget and a team of experts to transform their house into a dream home that will sell.
Flip That House -- TLC
Each episode follows the transformation of a different house, each with its own host who's familiar with home renovation and real estate.
Flip This House -- A&E
Trademark Properties, a small real estate company in South Carolina, risks it all to chase the American dream of getting rich from real estate.
Hot Property - HGTV
After being shown three properties, a young British couple is asked to pick their favourite and is then given the chance to win their dream house by guessing its price.
House Hunters - HGTV
This show takes viewers behind the scenes as people learn what to look for when deciding whether or not to buy a home.
Million Dollar Listing -- Bravo
Ten top agents in California's tough real-estate market stop at nothing to close the deal on this six-episode series premiering on June 12.
Moving Up -- TLC
A chain of new homeowners move into one another's homes. After they renovate their new digs, Doug Wilson (of Trading Spaces) shows the former owners the changes.
Open Homes -- Prime TV
This made-in-Calgary series features home makeovers done in one day on a $1,500 budget in hopes of upping the home's resale value.
Property Ladder -- TLC
First time developers "flip" and risk it all as they buy, renovate and sell property for instant cash.
Selling Houses - HGTV
No-nonsense estate agent Andrew Winter takes homeowners to task as they struggle with their hard-to-sell homes.
Sell This House -- A&E
Prospective buyers are secretly videotaped as they express their observations about a house. Then the homeowners and cast redesign the home in hopes it will lead to a big payoff.
Take This House and Sell It -- W Network
The team shows homeowners how to get the most for their time and money while upping the chances of a possible bidding war on their property.
Trading Up - HGTV
The cast helps homeowners take advantage of the housing boom by boosting the value of their house without breaking the bank.
