If you were one of the 2.7 million Australians who caught The Block’s Glasshouse finale on Sunday night, you would’ve seen two of our best in action – Matt White and Haesley Cush.
Despite the result, which saw Gold Coast couple Michael and Carlene pocket just $10k for their efforts on the show, we can all agree that Matt and Haesley’s efforts to shift buyer sentiment in the room and overcome an unpredictable property market were outstanding.
“There were two groups on The Block – the large apartments and the smaller apartments. While we believe that the reserve correctly reflected the value of Michael and Carlene’s smaller apartment, by the time the auction started, so to did the pool of buyers see the value of the property and were not going to budge,” Haesley said.
“The weight of expectation from owners, viewers, vendors and myself added a level of intensity to the auction. It was certainly one of the hardest by length and stretch that I have called in my time.”
Under Victoria’s rules, if an auction is passed in, the highest bidder has the right to pay the reserve to secure the property. As far as we know, we were the only agency in The Block’s history to stop the show during the auction.
“The 45 minute auction was condensed to five minutes. For viewers I don’t believe this conveyed the level of consultation we held with the show’s producers and Michael and Carlene when we hit pause,” Haesley said.
“To pass a property in to get a above reserve price is to kick a field goal knowing that it won’t win you the game. “From the bottom of my heart, if I did it again, I wouldn’t change a thing.”
Happy with the work of Ray White, Michael and Carlene will be issuing a statement thanking Ray White later this week. A massive thank you to the Ray White team behind this year’s The Block. From organising the public inspections to running an effective campaign across Victoria, our blockheads were organisers, brand ambassadors and more.
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