Interest in 'Block' online listings 'mindblowing'

The Block home renovated by Ben and Libby. Photo / Supplied by Bayleys

People are flocking in their thousands to view online listings for the houses made famous by popular TV show The Block.

Online viewings of the four Auckland properties have reached more than 25,000 in only six days and interest continued to build with auctions scheduled next month, said Realestate.co.nz chief executive Alistair Helm.

The number of hits is unprecedented for the website.

"There's one word for it, which is mindblowing. We've never seen the level of interest as this,'' he said.

The number of views spiked on Monday at 9000 across the four North Shore properties - 10 times higher than the average number for a sought-after inner city Auckland home, with 200-300 views a day.

A hit with DIYers, the TV3 reality show follows four couples as they compete to renovate neighbouring houses on Anzac St over 10 weeks.

The properties will be auctioned on live television on September 6.

The winners take away the profit and an $80,000 cash prize.

Most of the online traffic to the listings was redirected to the site through Realestate.co.nz's Facebook page, which showed the power of social networking, said Mr Helm.

"It speaks to how engaged people are to comment and share and discuss this topic which is very viral, and I guess we've tapped into that and been the recipient of an enormous amount of traffic."

Two lanes of Anzac St in front of the houses will be closed during open homes on August 25 and September 1, and portaloos will be installed to accommodate the huge numbers of people expected.

Several serious buyers have already had private viewings of the properties with real estate agents from Bayleys, which is marketing the property.

The homes all have Council Valuations around $750,000 and "a considerable amount of renovation and redecorating of the properties had taken place since then", said Bayleys North Shore residential manager Hayden Stanaway.

"However, until the auctions are held on September 6, it's literally crystal ball-gazing to predict what they will sell for."