'Selling Sunset' stars on Netflix record, real estate tips and first impressions of Vancouver

Ahead of a meet-and-greet with fans and clients in downtown Vancouver, the stars of Netflix's hit reality show "Selling Sunset" sat down with CTV Morning Live Thursday.

Today, Jason Oppenheim and Mary Bonnet (nee Fitzgerald) are, for many, the faces of luxury real estate in southern California, but the pair told CML's Keri Adams and Jason Pires they initially had low expectations when they started filming the series in 2019.

"Yes, definitely," said Bonnet when Adams asked if she was surprised at the show's success.

"I remember in the beginning we were like, 'Oh, we had season one, and if we got to season three, that means we made it.' I mean, that's when a lot of shows just get dropped."

Instead of getting dropped, Selling Sunset is on its sixth season, which premiered last month, and Netflix has already ordered a seventh.

Oppenheim said he has his eyes set on the all-time record.

"I personally want – so, Netflix has never had an original series go to (seasons) eight and nine – so we want to be the longest-running on Netflix," he said.

It's an ambition he didn't expect to have. Though Oppenheim comes from five generations of real estate agents, he said he initially moved to Los Angeles to work as a lawyer.

The switch to real estate worked out for him, but he said the transition to streaming star was not as easy.

"I was definitely not someone that ever thought I would be on TV, and season one, I was a wreck," Oppenheim said. "I was so stressed out. Now, I'm cool. Now, I'm chill, but it took me a while."

Asked to share some words of wisdom for people navigating Vancouver's ultra-competitive real estate market, Oppenheim offered tips on finding value in an expensive market.

He said he likes to look for properties that have been on the market for a while, and ones that don't have especially nice, well-staged photos, noting that presentation is often the key to a successful sale.

Properties that are languishing on the market can be cheaper because prospective buyers think there's something wrong with them, he said, when it's often a matter of the property not being presented well.

"As a seller, that's the exact same mistake they make," Oppenheim said. "Some people don't want to. They'll be selling a $3 million apartment – usually, it's apartments – in Vancouver and they won't pay for staging, they won't pay for new paint, they won't change the lightbulbs."

"For the same reason that's what I look for when I'm buying, it's exactly what I tell my sellers not to do."

Oppenheim and Bonnet said presentation is what brought them to Vancouver this week. Their event Thursday night is being held at the Granville Street showroom of Rove Concepts, a Canadian-based home-staging and furnishing company that the pair works with regularly. 

"We were just using them so much, we basically reached out and and we were like, 'Guys, we've got to do a partnership,'" Oppenheim said.

"And also, Mary's never been to Vancouver, so it was a win-win."