Netflix recommendations- Million Dollar Listing New York (Season 4)

So, this is how the other 1% live!?

We were looking for something new to binge, and since we were in the mind-space of renovating our kitchen and bathrooms- what better than to get some renovation ideas from Reality Home Renovation TV shows! Unfortunately, all of the renovation shows on Netflix we had already watched( or had chosen not to watch anymore), but this show “Million Dollar Listing New York” did catch my eye!

Previously my wife refused to watch any further episodes of ‘Selling Sunset’, after she sat through one episode, and found it to be too catty,  with the office drama overshadowing the actual sale of property. Which is completely true! However, for me I didn’t mind the unnecessary drama and I think I’ve watched every episode of the Los Angeles seasons. And although Million Dollar Listing New York (hence forth MDL NYC) was just another high end real estate show, however it hits on different notes, notes which appealed to both of our tastes. These tastes being, featuring apartment living, in a major high density capital city, and much fewer direct interaction between Brokers, which equates to less meow moments!

For those who are less familiar with MDL NYC, the Reality TV show follows 3 high end Real Estate Brokers, as they meet with their wealthy clients, as they attempt to sell their client’s million dollar New York apartments to another super wealthy individual. The show focuses on the first inspections, where pricing and positioning of the apartment is discussed; then staging/marketing the listing; the open house for Buyer’s Agents; then the offer and negotiation between agents; and finally, the eventual good news to the seller that their apartment has sold for “asking” (in the ideal scenarios). Meanwhile, some drama is weaved into the story, so it isn’t as boring as literally watching your average Real estate agent going about their business. There’s bound to be the odd amusing interaction between Broker and their staff; the push-and-pull between Broker and their client as they haggle over cost per square foot to agree on the actual asking price of their property; there’s the expected staging hits-and-misses as they expend considerable effort and cost to present the apartments in its best light to potential buyers; and of course a glimpse into the personal lives of the 3 Brokers. For season 4, the 3 Brokers were Fredrik Eklund, Ryan Serhant, and Luis D. Ortiz. And what made this show binge worthy in my personal opinion, was the personalities of these three, their lives being interesting enough for filming and public consumption, like as Fredrik and his husband continue their search for a woman to donate them her eggs; the build-up to Ryan’s proposal to his girlfriend; and Luis’ attempts to make a name for himself in the NYC Property market- these story-lines interesting enough to keep us looking forward to the next episode!

And in the continuation of Netflix’s strange program acquisitions, they have secured only 2 seasons of MDL NYC, that being Seasons 4 (2015) and Seasons 5 (2016). Although by television terms, these episodes are pretty old- but they don’t feel dated at all. But I wonder if the NYC Property market is still as hot today as it was back in the mid-2010s, considering we’ve been through COVID and the move away from high density living near business centres. And what else caught my attention about the NYC Property market, was the use of Buyer’s Agents! As the Seller’s Agent rarely came into direct contact with actual buyers, which seems odd for Australians. And the fact that they do not use auctions to sell property, rather preferring to have a listed price and allow Buyer’s Agents to low ball them, the ‘highest low ball’ figure, being the successful Offeror. Sounds weird hey?

But overall, an entertaining watch. To see how the other 1% live in the most expensive city in the world! Check-out Million Dollar Listing New York, just search for it on your Netflix app! Now I just need to score a job which pays me 10 times more than what I’m earning today, so I can remotely consider a multi-million dollar Penthouse apartment. Here’s to wishing!