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Will 8 new reality TV shows bring back home flippers?

Strong ratings spurred HGTV to add new programs

Cast members Tarek and Christina and Tarek El Moussa of HGTV's "Flip or Flop"
Cast members Tarek and Christina and Tarek El Moussa of HGTV's "Flip or Flop"

WEEKENDEDITION Home flippers mostly went extinct nationwide after the housing crisis. But despite a harsh lending market, they may be on their way back, via television.

Getting a loan to buy a house in need of some TLC that can be fixed up, and sold for a profit has become extremely difficult since the housing crisis. But, according to an editorial in Bloomberg News, house flipping is seeing a resurgence via reality TV.

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The HGTV network planned to add nine house-flipping programs on top of its already real estate heavy lineup. But that number has been cut back to eight, after the father and son team of `Flip It Forward’ were revealed to be right-wing anti-gay activists.

Yet whether these home-flipping shows will inspire people to get back into the market is yet to be seen. It seems equally likely that people would rather watch TV personalities take all the risks, from the safety of their couches.

In fact, only 3.7 percent of single-family home sales last quarter were flips, according to RealtyTrac. That’s down from 4.1 percent in the fourth quarter of 2013 and 6.5 percent in 2013’s first quarter, according to RealtyTrac’s 2014 first-quarter U.S. Home Flipping Report cited by Bloomberg News. [Bloomberg News] – Christopher Cameron

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FlipsReality TV