Who owns auction times?

[Navaar Morningstar]

In the past, the auctioneers decided that it would be best to not overlap each other as it wasn't a competition but a community. And as I said, auctioneers always owned the times.

It matters who owns the times though... if the auctioneer does, then if a sim location isn't working for them, moving to another sim would be something they might do to improve their business success as it would be their "business" and they would do what's they feel is best for it. However, if it belongs to the sim, then essentially the auctioneer is an employee of the sim and if the auctioneer doesn't feel things are going well, then leaving the sim also means they give up the auction time and it may be impossible for them to auction elsewhere unless another time that fits within their schedule happens to be available. Being an auctioneer isn't just being able to read a pedigree - it involves being able to determine hidden traits and do a little teaching, sales, advertising, photography and bonus points for building your own stage.

So again, who owns the time? The person who does all the work or the place that provides the space?