What a block of .....

The Block series on Channel 9 this year was a baptism of fire for the contestants. It’s where reality TV – which has nothing to do with reality – meets with the property auction process – and you can't get any more real than that. I am fascinated by the whole concept. One minute the contestants are cut and edited within an inch of their lives, we don’t see the huge crew of people in the background actually putting this show together, and the next minute it’s auction day, everything is now really real. Well except maybe for the hair extensions. What I am struggling to come to terms with is the process itself. Can someone please explain to me how the contestants don’t get to choose the reserve price, but they do get to stop the auction when it looks like it’s going to meet reserve? Am I missing something? I thought the purpose of an auction was to get to reserve – get the property on market and then create the frenzy of competition between the bidders and push the prices up! Come on Scotty Cam! You can’t complain about the results of the auctions when you sat there and let the contestants pull the properties down for fear of a small prize at the end. What does this say to the public generally? Auction clearance rates are terrible, there are no buyers, prices are coming down. It's all doom and gloom out there. The media love this stuff. It allows them to create more fear around the residential property market. I wonder what the results would have been if they actually let the auctions run their course. Come on Channel 9 - get real.