‘Zillow Gone Wild’ is now an HGTV series: NPR

The Golden Saxophone House, featured in HGTV’s new series “Zillow Gone Wild.”

HGTV

hide caption

toggle caption

HGTV

The Golden Saxophone House, featured in HGTV’s new series “Zillow Gone Wild.”

HGTV

The real estate social media space is full of influencers focusing on specific niches like luxury mansions, mid-century moderns, or inexpensive but promising renovations.

In this cluttered universe, Zillow Gone Wild is a place to go if you’re looking for, say, a house in Kansas City, Missouri, shaped like a UFO; a striking angular residence in Kalamazoo, Michigan, designed in the late 1940s by Frank Lloyd Wright; or a recently built cruise ship with almost 3,000 rooms. (Yes, there is a real Zillow listing for this property.)

“Waking up to an ocean view in the real ocean is the new best way to wake up,” says Samir Mezrahi, Zillow Gone WildThe creator of , in his tongue-in-cheek comment on TikTok on this particularly mind-boggling list of properties.

Mezrahi’s massive account, which has several million followers across all platforms, has now become an equally crazy reality TV show. The nine-episode series premiered on HGTV Friday and is now available on Max.

As on social networks, the Zillow Gone Wild The TV show is aimed at the general public and focuses on homes that defy everyday expectations in one way or another – whether visible from the outside in the architecture or hidden inside as part of home decoration.

“This has to be something we’ve basically never seen before,” says Mezrahi, former director of social media at Buzzfeedin an interview with NPR.

Give a “wild” tone

The first segment of the first episode sets the tone: Owner Andrew Flair shows off the converted U.S. military missile launch facility in York, Neb. The unusual property has very thick steel doors and no windows.

The exterior of a house converted from a decommissioned missile solo in York, Neb.

HGTV

hide caption

toggle caption

HGTV

The exterior of a house converted from a decommissioned missile solo in York, Neb.

HGTV

“It’s all underground, covered in concrete, and if for some reason a bomb goes off, you’ll be safe,” Flair said on the show.

And in episode three, owner Kitty Reign takes viewers around the world. Pirates of the Caribbeana themed residence in Las Vegas that she is selling. This swashbuckler’s paradise comes complete with a decorative wooden helmet (“Everyone play with it!”) and a tavern (“Kind of our own little secret pirate disco!”)

Hosted by comedian Jack McBrayer, who played Kenneth in 30 Rock, the exhibit features 24 homes from across the country, for sale or recently sold. But only one of them will be crowned “the wildest” in the country at the end of the series, according to HGTV executives. Viewers who correctly guess the winning house can enter a prize pool for a chance to win $25,000.

Kitty Reign and her wife, Jennifer, show host Jack McBrayer around their “Pirates of the Caribbean”-themed home, as seen in the new HGTV series “Zillow Gone Wild“

HGTV

hide caption

toggle caption

HGTV

Kitty Reign and her wife, Jennifer, show host Jack McBrayer around their “Pirates of the Caribbean”-themed home, as seen in the new HGTV series “Zillow Gone Wild“

HGTV

Judging criteria include creativity, commitment to a concept or theme and a quality that McBrayer describes as “wacky.”

“That special thing that sets this property apart,” McBrayer said on the show. “We reward inconvenience.”

The Growth of an American Pastime

Viewing real estate listings on social media has become an extremely popular American pastime in recent years. Saturday Night Live even did a skit about the trend in 2021. (“The pleasure you once had from sex now comes from looking at other people’s houses.”)

Mezrahi, who is based in New York, says he has long made browsing Zillow his passion. He started Zillow Gone Wild as a side project in fall 2020, knowing it would likely catch on. Mezrahi initially launched it only on Instagram, but quickly expanded to Facebook, Twitter, TikTok and a newsletter.

“It was like a major pandemic. Everyone is working from home. Companies are saying you can live wherever you want,” says Mezrahi. “So people are moving, thinking about moving, or scrolling through Zillow just to be bored on their phone. So I felt like there was an audience of people who were doing that too.”

The rise of television and online channels devoted to home buying and renovating, as well as the increasingly sophisticated social media presence of individual real estate brokers promoting their listings, have further fueled this tendency.

“It’s a time when a lot of people are thinking about where and how we want to live,” said Amanda Pendleton, Zillow’s home trends expert, in an interview with NPR. “And these social media accounts have captured our imagination and redefined what a home can be.”

“Wild” Listings Can Be a Challenge for Real Estate Brokers

This quality of “capturing the imagination” is what makes Zillow Gone Wild so convincing on TikTok and on television.

But when it comes to selling a property, quirky architecture and festive decor aren’t necessarily virtues.

“As a real estate broker, it makes you a little nervous because the resale value isn’t the highest when you take ownership of it,” said Ria Cotton, a real estate agent based in the Bay Area. Francisco, in an interview with NPR. “It might not please others.”

Host Jack McBrayer admires the “Golden Saxophone House.”

HGTV

hide caption

toggle caption

HGTV

Host Jack McBrayer admires the “Golden Saxophone House.”

HGTV

While it’s best to have a marketable property, Cotton admits to the popularity of social media accounts like Zillow Gone Wild shows that there is a growing appetite among homebuyers and potential buyers for “wackadoo.”

“I think more and more people are bored of the cookie-cutter way of doing things,” Cotton says.

Case in point: an unusual music-themed home in Berkeley, Calif., that Cotton recently brokered, featured in Zillow has gone wild.

The facade of the “House of the Saxophone” is dominated by two massive gold columns in the shape of a saxophone. In the TV show, new owner Adanté Pointer proudly shows off the gold treble clef ornaments on the interior balcony railings.

“The gold accents really make it pop,” Pointer says appreciatively.

The smooth jazz vibe and bling of Saxophone House may not appeal to everyone. But Pointer says it’s perfect for him.

“I’m a lawyer and a lot of times people come to me to make a statement on their behalf,” he said on the show. “And when you look at the exterior of this house, it’s definitely a showpiece.”

In an interview with NPR, TV show host McBrayer said that if you toured all the homes featured in the Zillow Gone Wild Something TV shows have taught him is that even the craziest houses won’t stay empty forever.

“For every house that is head to toe in the colors of the rainbow, there will be a buyer. For every house that is tied under a bridge, there will be a buyer,” McBrayer said. “There is a lid for each jar.”