Hixson home gets a shot on ‘House Hunters’
HGTV series films Hixson home as one of its also-rans
AHixson home will be featured in an upcoming episode of “House Hunters,” but this time only as a runner-up.
But that’s OK to owner Jim Wells and his real estate agent, Joshua Hill.
“It’s going to put us on the map,” says Hill, a KellerWilliams affiliate broker.
The home sits on a half-acre lot in the Hidden Harbor community. It’s listed at $305,000.
Representatives from the HGTV reality series spent 12 hours filming the home at 6624 White Sands Lane earlier this month, but ultimately it will be one of the two houses that the featured buyer will not choose. They’re called dummy houses, Hill explains.
The show allows the television audience to view three houses as the potential buyer walks through each, discussing likes and dislikes. It all happens within a 30-minute broadcast, so producers simplify the process by only featuring buyers who already have a house under contract. “House Hunters” then finds two comparable homes within the buyer’s requested price range to show along with the home selected.
The show doesn’t tell the audience that the outcome is already known at filming. As the show unfolds, it appears as if the audience is watching the buyer’s decision process.
“House Hunters” also recently featured Dr. Rink and Kristi Murray, who selected a home on Lookout Mountain.
Other than entertainment, the benefit of having a house featured on the show is exposure, says Hill.
It’s also good publicity for Hixson, says Wells.
No air date has been set for the broadcast, so no further details could
be provided about the other two homes, according to Chelsey Riemann, public relations manager for HGTV.
“I will be able to share the episode description with you once we have it on our schedule,” she wrote in an email response to a request for comments about the broadcast.
Hill initially thought the show would help sell the house, but because the episode will spend at least two months in production, he expects the house to have already sold when it airs.
He describes Chattanooga’s current housing market as phenomenally strong. Houses haven’t sold as fast as they’re selling now since the early 1990s, he says.
Wells has already bought another home. It took six months to make the purchase, mostly because he was slower making offers than other house hunters.
“I’m telling you,” says Wells, “if you don’t put an offer on a house or a counter offer on a house when you see it, it’s gone if it’s priced right. We had multiple offers on the house we just bought.”
He says he’d still live on White Sands Lane, but his wife, Pamela, recently had knee surgery and has trouble with stairs. The home includes a long staircase overlooking the entry.
The two-story brick home has six bedrooms, potential office space, three and a half baths and two garages that can accommodate six cars (two in the attached garage, four in a separate structure).
It’s part of a 450-home community that features a huge pool, boat dock, tennis court and pavilion. The Hidden Harbor area also includes a soccer field, two playgrounds and a basketball court.
At 3,684 square feet, the White Sands Lane home can accommodate a large, or even extended, family, Hill says, providing a separate living area for older parents, perhaps, that has privacy but easy access if they need assistance.
The home’s most unique feature, one Wells expects might be played up on the show, is built-in display areas with lighting built into the walls.
Wells says an electrical engineer for TVA previously owned the house and designed the showcase lighting.
“He has wired this house to no end with electricity,” he says.
Contact Yolanda Putman at yputman@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6431.