Real Estate Intervention

"Real Estate Intervention" is a television series on the Home & Garden Television Network. Instead of an upbeat real estate, remodeling, design and construction advice show typical of HGTV, Real Estate Intervention is a cold shot of reality, reflecting 2009 housing crisis issues and its effects on homeowners.

Real Estate Intervention is a good news-bad news type of series. The good news is that most homeowners can sell their house even in a down market. The bad news is that most homeowners in a down housing market price their homes too high and will eventually have to adapt to market prices. Most sellers on Real Estate Intervention are experiencing some form of financial crisis, typically carrying more than one mortgage, or their current mortgage is more than they can currently afford.

Host Mike Aubrey

The show host Mike Aubrey is part star real estate broker and part therapist. Mike Aubrey & Associates is a part of Re/Max Metropolitan Realty serving Washington D.C. and Maryland. He's a smiling bald-pated father figure more Daddy Less Bucks than Daddy Warbucks.

During each episode, Aubrey dispenses an economic variation of tough love to change-resistant sellers. He attempts to break down their resistance to harsh real estate market realities by typically showing them two comparable houses in their neighborhood. One of these houses has already sold for either less than their asking price or for close to their asking price. In the latter case, the similarly priced sold home typically has more saleable features such as a larger yard, granite countertops, more closet space or one more bedroom. A second comparable house in the neighborhood may be on the market like the sellers' house.

As each episode progresses, viewers watch stubborn, overly defensive sellers slowly wear down and accept Mike Aubrey's advice, lowering their asking price and luring prospective qualified buyers. Those sellers who dig their heels in and don't lower their asking price typically pay a steep price for their inflexibility.

Co-Host Sabrina Soto

Sabrina Soto is a designer and professional real estate stager. Besides her professional expertise, she serves a similar series function as Ryan Seacrest on "American Idol", soothing the wounds of show participants facing harsh truths.

HGTV

Programming on HGTV is adjusting to the new economic realities facing the housing market. These programming changes could be a reaction to opinion pieces in mainstream media like The Wall Street Journal and Time Magazine. They have blamed HGTV and other Scripps Television programming as contributors to the current housing crisis, touting the American Dream of owning your own home as being attainable by anyone.

FrontDoor.com

There's a companion online feature to the Real Estate Intervention TV show courtesy of HGTV's FrontDoor.com web site. During the airing of episodes, viewers can connect to FrontDoor.com to read Mike Aubrey's "live tweets" from Twitter. They can also comment on Facebook during episodes via FrontDoor.com.