Massive ‘show pony’ problem with The Block [Video]

The Block auctions that aired to conclude the last season of the tortuous Channel 9 renovation show were harmful to the ever fragile image of auctions.

Much of the bidding was simply about self promotion for the show ponies.

The paucity of interested mum and dad buyers was troubling.

But the most telling takeout of the event was the concerning issue of under quoting.

Auction reserve prices are best set within the publicly quoted price guide, not significantly higher as was the case with the winning Hampton East house offering renovated by the Sydney contestants Steph and Gian Ottavio.

Their five-bedroom Japandi-style residence was advertised with a $2.8m to $3m price guide but its reserve was $3.35 million.

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