According to Showbiz Cheat Sheet, the couples and families featured on the show are only paid $500 for their time. This amount is split between the entire party filming the episode (Via Mental Floss). It reportedly takes about 30 hours to film each "House Hunters" episode over the course of 3-5 days, meaning these individuals are working long hours for very low pay. It's shocking that the pay is so low because the "hunters" compete against 100 to 200 applicants for their specific episode.

While the pay is quite low for the people buying the homes, at least they receive some compensation. The realtor isn't paid anything to appear on "House Hunters" but agrees to film for the free publicity. According to The Washington Post, this HGTV original has over 25 million viewers per month. The massive popularity of the series helps these unpaid laborers to increase their sales and profile in their neighborhoods. While the pay for a "House Hunter" ranges from little to nothing, the experience of appearing on the series and finding your dream home is priceless.