The Chopping Block: Lessons from The Block 2022’s Controversial Results

There’s been a lot of coverage of the recent results of the TV show, The Block, and for good reason.

Not only did this year produce the worst (respective; mean) results for the entire history of the series – it also produced a record-breaking profit for the winners.

Of the five homes that had been extensively renovated and prepared for market over the course of months, one sold for a meagre $20,000 profit, three were passed in below reserve (one of which later sold for a $169,000 profit), and one sold for a record-breaking $1.586M profit, netting the contestants, Omar and Oz, almost $1.7M total with the addition of their prize money.

Graph credit: abc.net.au

Much of the commentary around these results blames market fears, economic uncertainty, and the single word that we’ve been all but bludgeoned with over the past few months: inflation.

While this is not necessarily wrong – there are huge affordability issues in many parts of the market at the moment, and the rising cost of living is putting real pressure on almost all households – I think it detracts from a few insights that we can all take away from the situation.

After all, if the cash rate, inflation, and the looming economic uncertainty in places like the US, UK, and greater Europe were the only driver of this outcome, how do we explain the record profits achieved by Omar and Oz on their $5.6M property?

Three words: research, ego, and maturity.

Research

The phrase “do your research” is stated so often that it’s at risk of becoming cliché, after which it will likely become meaningless. But – in my opinion – the words are so often stated because they’re so often ignored, and they bear repeating today.

From materials and contractors to costings and design, there are myriad aspects of research and planning that must go into any large-scale renovation, which is likely why the term seems like such a throwaway.

What I’m specifically referring to in this instance is the very first thing that should be defined: the target audience.

It’s safe to assume that the type of people who purchase rural properties have different wants and needs from people who purchase suburban residences, who have different wants and needs from people who purchase CBD apartments.

While I’m not suggesting that the contestants completely overlooked this factor, I do think that they truly missed the mark when it comes down to understanding their audience and renovating these “dream homes” to suit, as well as understanding the shift in mentality and affordability.

From the overworked palatial features and “bling” to the scarcely considered, niche, and costly inclusions such as golf holes (which the winners were also guilty of), horse paddocks, and vineyards; the focus seemed to forget that many people move to the country to enjoy a slower pace of life, as well as to feel that sense of community that many country towns are renown for.

I’ll use the golf holes example to illustrate this last point best: how many country towns have you been to that don’t have an impressive golf course that’s home to a thriving community of active members?

To put it simply, I think that the contestants didn’t spend enough time in the initial planning stage of their projects, nor did they truly understand the type of person who moves to the country and why.

The remedy? Do. Your. Research.

Ego

This is something I started to notice early on in the series, but it really came about toward the end of the renovations, and it’s something that any sales agent will take into consideration when preparing a home for sale: personalisation.

Quite often, I find that there’s a personal touch missing from many homes, which can lead to designs – particularly modern ones – feeling stark or austere. But the key distinction to make here is that a home should have personality – it shouldn’t be influenced by one.

Put simply, the contestants created their dream home, instead of a dream home.

The theory behind this is the same reason that will lead any reputable sales agent to recommend having a property partially or completely staged by interior design professionals prior to sale.

A surface-level, cynical view of staging is that you’re simply dressing the home up with fancy décor to try and portray it as something it isn’t, but this misses the entire point – otherwise, these brand-new houses with brand-new furniture wouldn’t have had this issue.

First and foremost, staging a home is about creating an environment where the maximum amount of people can enter any given space and imagine themselves living there. That’s all.

What made this issue even more damaging to contestants’ final builds is that this methodology (or lack thereof) extended to actual design choices and inclusions in each space, not just furniture.

From visually complicated wallpaper and photographic prints layered on entire walls to near-abstract melds of materials that would usually only live in a design publication or feature build, the contestants let their own desires and dreams get in the way of their audience. 

Adding this level of personal flair simply further alienates a larger section of the target audience, and creates more friction to a potential buyer.

The remedy? Check your ego, remove yourself from the end product, and remain grounded to the community.

Patience

This one is by far the simplest, and it’s also one that I can’t entirely blame the contestants for, though it still serves as a powerful learning tool for us all.

The core issue here is what I call a maturity gap, which I’ll loosely define as the time period between a property being completed on paper and that same property looking like a home. And, in any development project, there is generally a directly proportional relationship between the size of a property and the size of the maturity gap.

For example, an apartment block or a string of townhouses will generally be in a mature state as soon as the build is completed. Meaning, the build is finished, the paint has dried, and any gardens and landscaping are completed.

A three-bedroom residential property will usually take a little longer to achieve this same state, though it can be circumvented with clever landscaping to some degree. If you put in extra work or spend more money, you can generally reduce the maturity gap down to waiting for turf to take and blend, which is anywhere from a few weeks to a couple of months.

When it comes to a rural property, however, this maturing process can take years. Trees need to grow, gardens need to flourish, and – perhaps the most detrimental to the contestants’ results – the ground needs to settle and heal.

While a great deal of work was done to landscape a significant portion of the properties, they still looked like construction sites outside of a 500-1000sqm radius, largely due to the sheer volume of heavy vehicles and machinery that had to be tracked in over such a short timeframe.

 It’s an unavoidable issue given the nature of the show – and it’s one that even the winners of the competition fell victim to – though it’s still a contributing factor we can learn from.

The remedy? Thoughtful landscaping, early regenerative practices, and time.

In summary

I will cut the contestants some slack because it’s the first time in recent memory that The Block has ventured out into rural territory, and a lot of the current economic pressures developed over the course of their renovations which certainly played a part in the result.

However, the fantastic result achieved by Omar and Oz despite these headwinds highlights the value that comes from thorough planning, research, and understanding, and shows that, as always, the market is what you make of it.