Real estate shows stay strong despite housing slump

First a quick confession: I'm a big fan of home shows on TLC and HGTV, and even Barvo and A&E. I like the decorating shows too (especially Color Splash!) but my favorites are the shows that have a real estate market angles: House Hunters, Designed to Sell, Property Virgins, Flip This House, My House is Worth What? etc.

So I was interested to see this article in the USA Today showing that, deflating housing bubble be darned, it's still a bull market for real estate television.

What's behind the trend? I think that the housing market's troubles have made these shows more compelling. A couple years ago, speculators were making money flipping a house just by holding it for a few months in an up-market. Now that things aren't so rosy, perfection is more important. A tougher market makes for more compelling entertainment.

I was also excited to learn that Million Dollar Listing will be coming back to Bravo this summer. If you missed the first season, it might be worth downloading it on Amazon Unbox.