HGTV Comes To Anthem, Arizona
Have you ever wondered how “outsiders” view Anthem, and the homes and amenities they find here? What do buyers base their final decision on? What are “deal breakers?”
Local real estate professional, Kathleen Mazzocco, received a phone call over a year ago from an HGTV House Hunters producer asking her to take part in an episode featuring a couple relocating to Phoenix, Arizona. Kathleen hesitated at first (not sure she had any acting talents) but really wanted to see Anthem on national TV. The show took a year to produce and Kathleen was involved in many phases of the production. The show only shows three of the couples’ possible choices for a home purchase. Kathleen decided to show a home in The Landing, one in the Country Club, and one in Parkside. She wanted the audience to see all of Anthem like her clients do when they visit from another state for the first time. The couple featured had a list of personal likes and dislikes, features they were in search of, and ones, like grass to mow, that they wanted to avoid like the plague! Their price range was in the high 300’s to low 400’s. Television viewers followed Kathleen as she led the enthused couple through three beautiful Anthem homes.
View the Anthem, AZ Community: http://anthemazcommunity.com/
While the taping was exciting with its fair share of fun, it was a lot work and retakes. Remember, she did say “she had no acting talents.” “The day before the production crew came out we discussed everything in detail for hours. Making decisions about which house was going to be #1 to other areas of Anthem to include in the taping. The production crew spent an entire week here last February, which resulted in forty hours of taping when all was said and done. It took about ten hours to film each house that was shown to the couple. The night before each taping, Kathleen was busy with her home stager making sure everything was in place. When the show was edited, it appeared as if there were just minutes spent in each home. Kathleen now laughs at how cold she was that week last February, and the fact that she had to appear on tape as if it was a warm day typical of the days that one might expect in Arizona.
“The warm, pleasant weather was a major theme running through that episode, as the hopeful couple was anxious to leave the bitter cold, snowy weather back East in their rear view mirror. So, it wouldn’t have “fit” to have us shivering from the cold, windy air,” shared Kathleen. The weather that week was like a winter day back east minus the snow.
Kathleen reflected on the pricing and the timing of the real estate market, “Of course at the time that they purchased their home, prices were much higher than they are now. However, it is a wonderful representation of what type of homes are available to buyers in Anthem right now.”
While there was no compensation for Kathleen’s involvement in the episode, there were some inherent benefits, “The chance to attract national exposure to Anthem was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up,” she explained. The exposure to a national market of potential transplant buyers who may have never even heard of Anthem could give them a new place to visit and possibly invest in.
So, which home did the prospective buyers make an offer on? You are going to have to watch the episode to see! If you want to walk in the shoes of this transplant couple and see if you agree with their decision, you will have another chance to see the episode on June 3, 2011. Check your local listings for time.
Kathleen Mazzocco has been a real estate professional for more than 20 years and she concentrates on the communities of the North Valley in particular. She is a relocation professional who has worked with clients from all over the USA and abroad. Kathleen’s user-friendly website offers everything from a personal “Home Search” to helpful articles on buying and selling in today’s market.
