As we approach the business end of the competition, the houses of 'The Block' are preparing for a stampede of fans as auction day looms. Whose house will bring in the best price? Penny for your Block thoughts? Not a real penny obviously as they are no longer legal tender, just this pretend penny fashioned from air, love and dust motes. It’s the thought that counts anyway.

The houses of 'The Block', located on Anzac Street in Takapuna, Auckland will fling open their doors for the public on August 25 and September 1. The houses will go to 'Block-tion' in a live televised final on 6 September.

'The Block' has been both a ratings winner and an audience pleaser. With a new drama surfacing every week as the couples struggle to complete their homes, 'The Block' has become the most absorbing, fresh new reality show we’ve seen on screens for a long time. So let’s take a stroll back to the beginning when these homes were just uninhabitable shells and our four pairings were perfect strangers to us with the top five Block-Troversies.

In what was the most intense TV moment of the year thus far, 'nice couple' Sarah and Richard surprised us all when they decided to vote tactically in the Dinner Party challenge and score their competitors a mere 1 point each. Their scheming earned them the prize, but the wrath of their neighbours.

"Although we won, we lost so much," Richard revealed to the Woman’s Day. "We no longer have the respect of all the other couples. It's absolutely horrible. There is nothing we can say or do to fix things." See our edition of In the gossip mags

'The Block' producers had very cleverly written a karma clause into the next challenge, with the winners getting to choose who they would take the $2000 prize from. Everyone at home and on 'The Block'(apart from Sarah and Richard) breathed a sigh of relief when winners Libby and Ben chose to debit the bank balance of the renovators formerly known as the 'nice couple', thereby restoring order to Anzac Avenue.

Rachel and Tyson got a huge telling off last week from host Mark Richardson over their bloated budget blowouts.

Rachel didn’t appreciate the lecture over their poor money management, or the news that their finances were now to be monitored by their project manager. Mark also didn’t appreciate Rachel’s attitude and verbal shots were quickly fired back, culminating in Rachel storming off the site and attempting to book tickets for the first flight home.

After a sponsored breather at Wild Bean café (where everybody knows your name and a rectangular pie solves all ills) they were back on a renovating frenzy.

During the third bedroom challenge the teams were tasked with creating a piece of furniture using secondhand materials. Ginny and Rhys decided to recycle their toolbox making skills from day one by producing a child’s toy box.

Their repeat offending didn’t go unnoticed as Mark pulled them up on trying to take an old classic out for a new spin. It wouldn’t have been all that bad if their second effort was at least an improvement on the tool box, but it was a bit of a shoddy effort, with Rhys still struggling with hinge placement.

The addition of a potato sack as a seat covering didn’t do anything to add to it’s appeal, in fact it reminded us of the child catching sack from Bad Jelly The Witch; not a particularly comforting touch to a child’s bedroom.

Richard and Sarah have displayed some fine design choices, but the paper dress that won them the $1500 prize seemed like a really odd winner. It looked like it would have been more at home in the bedroom of a 12-year-old or an origami enthusiast than a hallway.

Designer and judge Stewart Harris’s little chihuahua whispered in his owner’s ear that he liked it best, (because he only likes to pee on the finer things in life), scoring Richard and Sarah the win. However, we really felt that one of the other competitors deserved this prize, having gone to the effort of making their own signature art pieces.

Like most viewers and 'The Block' competitors themselves, we had siblings Libby and Ben picked as highly competitive, win-at-all-costs types at the start. What we’ve since learned is that while they are deeply competitive, they’re also not quite as ruthless as we initially presumed.

During the dinner party challenge when everyone picked them as the team most likely to vote tactically, they were not only fair with their markings, but generous with their scores and full of praise for their rivals.

They’ve also proved they have a great eye for design. While their home has been described at times as clinical, it’s definitely the show home of the four and if they don’t win, I’ll eat my hat (it’s made from cake).

Check out the before and after pics of all The Block houses with this very nifty slider feature on 'The Block' website.

What have been your favourite moments on 'The Block'? Will you be heading along to the open homes?