Block buyers may end up being starlings in the coalmine: Steve Keen
It seems that people were happy to be in the audience, but no one wanted to regret their 15 minutes of fame by committing to 25 years of debt on overvalued properties at The Block’s weekend auction.
I think they should name the next series "The Chopping Block" – though it's more likely the series itself will be on the chopping block given that dismal final day.
The ratings may have been fantastic for Nine, but how would it look if next year's lot lost a bundle on their renovations?
I like one comment I saw on the SMH story about this: the writer remarked that the only real winner was the vendor who sold those four places to the show for $3.6 million in the first place!
The auction reserve prices were over the top, a clear sign that prices are in a bubble when cottages like that are expected to go for close to a million.
The buyers may end up being the "canaries in the coal mine" – or rather the starlings pretending to be canaries.
Steve Keen is an associate professor of economics and finance at the University of Western Sydney. He maintains a blog on the economy, Steve Keen's Debtwatch.
This article was written before the recent sale of the final two Block properties.
