Best Home Makeover Shows UK

Property shows are a huge part of the reality TV landscape. From showing off ambitious home builds to providing handy tips for improving your property’s value through renovations, like installing a wetroom, we love to watch people realise their dream homes and the joy it brings.

But which property shows are the most talked about, and which are the highest rated?

We’ve looked at social media data from TikTok and Instagram, and Google searches and IMDB reviews too, to find out. We’ve also put together a list of tips and tricks on the best renovation features, and how you can save some cash when revamping a space!

The Most Popular Property Shows

1 - Grand Designs

Watchability Score 8.55/10

Taking the top spot as the most popular property show is Grand Designs. The show, hosted by Kevin McCloud, documents the building and renovation of some of the most unusual and ambitious homes in the UK. From converted water towers to homes built with sustainable materials, Grand Designs showcases innovative solutions like installing underfloor heating

in the cutting-edge builds it documents. The programme scores 8.55 out of 10 thanks to its high level of critical acclaim, taking first place for the factor!

2 - Property Brothers

Watchability Score 7.98/10

This property show, which kicked off a franchise for twin brothers, Drew and Jonathan Scott, takes second place scoring 7.98 out of 10. The brothers help families purchase and transform properties in need of renovation into their dream homes within a strict timeframe and budget. The show is the second most searched on our list and one of the most popular on TikTok too, taking third for the factor.

3 - House Hunters and Selling Sunset

Watchability Score 7.58/10

Two popular shows share third place, both scoring 7.58 out of ten for their watchability. House Hunters follow the journey of individuals as they search for a new home in a different country with the help of a local estate agent and ultimately decide on one of three properties. The show is one of the most popular on Instagram, ranking second for the factor.

Selling Sunset, already in its fifth season since its debut in 2019, is a popular Netflix hit that follows the lives of a mostly female cast of real estate brokers at the most successful agency in the Hollywood Hills. The show ranked as the most popular in terms of Google searches and the most viewed property show on TikTok!

Property Show Popularity

The Most Viewed Property Shows on TikTok

1 - Selling Sunset

665.6 million views

The most popular show on TikTok is Selling Sunset by far, with just under 500 million more views than second place. The show’s appeal lies in the larger-than-life personalities of its cast, drama and high stakes in the cutthroat world of LA real estate and it shows off some of the most opulent homes in the valley too.

2 - Curb Appeal

167.6 million views

Up next is Curb Appeal, a home-improvement show which focuses on experts overhauling the exterior of whole blocks of houses to make them more appealing to prospective buyers and add value to homes. The show has 167.6 million views on the platform, taking it to second place.

3 - Property Brothers

108.8 million views

Taking third place is Property Brothers with 108.8 million views on TikTok. Following twin brothers Drew and Jonathan Scott, a real estate agent and a builder, the duo buys and renovates neglected houses for families, transforming them into their ideal homes.

The Most Hyped Property Shows on Instagram

1 - Curb Appeal

1,248,144 posts

Taking the top spot when it comes to Instagram posts is Curb Appeal. The US TV show first aired in the 1990s and has returned since then for a whopping 26 seasons, spawning spin-offs and inspiring homeowners to improve their properties with tips and tricks to increase their value.

2 - House Hunters

580,116 posts

Up next is House Hunters, with more than half a million posts. The show has become a juggernaut for the HGTV network, attracting up to 25 million viewers at its peak. The show also has 15 camera crews working on the show in separate locations at any given time thanks to its low production costs.

3 - Tiny House Nation

370,261 posts

Inspired by the tiny house movement, which emphasises downsizing living spaces and returning to a simpler way of living, Tiny House Nation documents two renovation experts as they help families around the US build their dream tiny homes, no bigger than 46 square metres. These homes are often off-grid so rely on renewable energy sources, making them very eco-friendly.

The Most Popular Property Shows

1 - Selling Sunset

7,635,000 Google searches

Taking the top spot is Selling Sunset, with an incredible 7.6 million Google searches over the last 12 months. The show is one of Netflix’s biggest reality hits, giving viewers a glimpse at ultra-expensive LA real estate life, a look at the properties some big A-lister celebrities put on their purchase lists, and the big personalities behind the sales too.

2 - Property Brothers

1,566,500 Google searches

Up next is the Canadian show Property Brothers. Now part of a series of spin-offs, the show is incredibly popular worldwide, having been broadcast in 150 countries. It has had more than 1.5 million searches over the last 12 months.

3 - A Place in the Sun

1,302,500 Google searches

Taking third place is A Place in the Sun, with over 1.3 million Google searches. This hugely popular UK property show helps buyers find their dream holiday home abroad and has gone as far afield as the Caribbean and Cape Verde. It’s also expanded from a TV show into a magazine and website offering buyers advice on purchasing properties overseas.

The Most Critically Acclaimed Property Shows

1 - Grand Designs and Your Home Made Perfect

IMDB rating 8.5/10

Two shows share the top spot as the most critically acclaimed property shows on TV, Grand Designs and Your Home Made Perfect both have an average rating of 8.5 out of 10.

Grand Designs is one of the most popular property TV shows in the UK, with a recent series attracting an average of 3.4 million viewers. The show has enduring appeal thanks to its broadcast of some of the most ambitious building projects in the country.

Your Home Made Perfect also scores an average rating of 8.5 out of 10. This home makeover show uses virtual reality to give families who have fallen out of love with their homes inspiration before they decide how they want to revamp their interiors.

2 - Reno My Rental

IMDB rating 8.3/10

Up next is Reno My Rental, which helps renters transform their properties by adding more personal touches for a low budget without altering the structure of their homes. It has an average rating of 8.3 out of 10.

3 - Married to Real Estate

IMDB rating 8.2/10

This series follows married couple Egypt Sherrod and Mike Jackson as they help their clients find their perfect homes in dream neighbourhoods while renovating these homes to suit their clients and add value. The show is very highly rated by viewers, scoring 8.2 out of 10.

The Best Home Renovation Features

Now that we’ve revealed the most popular shows providing homeowners with renovation inspiration, we’ve put together this helpful guide on some of the best home renovation features that can transform your home and save you money in the long run!

Upping your home’s green credentials isn’t just kind to the planet, it can be kind to your wallet too. When renovating a space, you should install a smart thermostat to monitor your heating bills. This also goes for insulating lofts or cavity walls, which could save you as much as £150 a year.

Embracing a house’s original features could also save you a bit of cash. Rather than replacing old fireplaces or floorboards, which can be very costly, restore them to add character to a space. This works especially well when combined with more modern features and can help them shine through as the focal point of any room.

If you’re looking to save money on decorating your newly revamped property, you could adopt a minimalist aesthetic. Leaving finishes in their exposed state, like exposed brick walls, adds a rustic and industrial element to a space and cuts down on the need for expensive and time-consuming plastering and decorating.

Salvaging old materials is also a great way of saving money on your home renovation. If you really want to get rid of a feature in one area of your home, save the materials you remove, as they could come in handy for a future revamp, or even be repurposed in another area of your home. This saves you from having to buy costly brand-new features and preserves the original charm and history of your space!

Methodology

Beginning with a list of property TV shows sourced from listicles, we analysed each one on the following factors. We then gave each property TV show a normalised score out of ten for each factor, before taking an average across each of these scores to reach our final overall score out of ten.

TikTok views: The total number of TikTok views for each show using the hashtag #[propertyshow].

Instagram posts: The total number of Instagram posts hashtagged #propertyshow

Google searches: The total number of Google searches for each show from August 2021 to July 2022.

Average IMDB rating: The average user rating for each property TV show according to IMDB.