HOME TRUTHS
The SellingHousesAustralia team take pride in transforming properties without breaking the bank, writes
HOME prices might have been falling in Australia’s biggest cities, but the amount of aspirational properties showcased on our TV networks and streaming services keeps rising. From country chateaux to tiny houses, every type of dwelling, in every condition, has a series. “We have access to so many glamorous shows, and
I must confess, I watch them,” real estate expert and Selling Houses Australia host Andrew Winter says with a laugh.
“Who doesn’t like a bit of a Million Dollar Listing New York and Los Angeles?” he adds. “Oh God, I love it. And then we have other property shows here in Australia, too. But the wonderful thing about good old Selling Houses is it’s real.”
The AACTA-winning series, which returns to Foxtel for its 15th season this week, sees Winter and his co-hosts, interior design expert Wendy Moore and landscaper Dennis Scott, come up with cost-savvy facelifts and strategies for properties that have been languishing on the market.
“Real people in real dilemmas, not with big budgets, not with the designer furniture, just normal homes,” Winters says. “Admittedly, sometimes they’re worth millions. Sometimes they’re worth a couple $100,000, and we do try to cover all price points for that very reason. But it’s all real.”
A fan of the show before joining the cast, Moore – who was a judge on House Rules for seven seasons – enjoys seeing realistic solutions to design problems unfold on screen. “I’d love to have loads of money [for each property], and everyone dreams of having a limitless budget, but the reality is the most interesting things happen when you’re really limited and you’re forced to get creative,” she says.
This season is also a personal one for Moore and former NRL player Scott. A time-capsule of a house in the Western Sydney suburb of Greystanes tugged at Moore’s heartstrings, reminding her of her childhood home, while Scott found himself revamping a desolate garden in Clermont, the rural Queensland suburb where his father lives.
“The vast difference between a home in central Queensland to one in [Sydney’s] Potts Point is amazing,” Scott explains.
“And I think it’s awesome to be able to show the Australian public the different lifestyles that people actually have. So it’s almost like a tourism show as well as a home renovation show.”
When Moore and Scott stepped into the roles following the departure of original co-hosts Shaynna Blaze and Charlie Albone after 13 seasons, Covid restrictions limited interstate travel and impacted their construction projects.
This time, the production faced new challenges.
“We started shooting this season in jubilation that Covid was, well, mostly over. We thought things were going to be good,” Winter admits. “I don’t think we
predicted just how complicated the market was going to be during the shooting of this season.”
As such, not every makeover story gets a happy ending this season, and even with Moore’s licks of paint and Scott’s newly laid turf, not every house sells for a profit, if at all. In that regard, the show is a barometer of the
housing market, Winter adds.
“If you just watch season one, you’ll see a very different housing market – you’ll see me walking around Sydney going, ‘If only they could sell their freestanding house in the inner west. All they want is $600,000 and we just didn’t seem to be able to get it,’” Winter recalls. “Compare that
to last season when somebody would want $2.5 million for their very modest home, and they get $2.7 million. It’s a stark contrast.”
SELLING HOUSES AUSTRALIA
SEASON 15 PREMIERES AT 7PM ON WEDNESDAY ON FOXTEL AND STREAMING, FOXTEL ON DEMAND