Auction Order Gifted Sara And Hayden Their Block Win

The aftermath of bidding on our tenth Melbourne series of “The Block” has been busy and we can’t believe how much interest the Finale generated. It was most definitely an exciting end to the series with most of Australia talking about Sara and Hayden’s surprise win, handed to them on a plate due to their early placement in the auction order.

Congratulations to all of The Block contestants on another successful series with total winnings of $1,980,000.  This was a great result considering the current patchy Melbourne property marketplace. The auction order was crucial in the overall results and Sara and Hayden were gifted the win by going early in the auction order. The penthouses, which in the previous series would have secured an earlier place were definitely disadvantaged by being later in the order as the pool of buyers diminishes with each auction.

We congratulate all of the contestants on their financial windfalls. From Hayden and Sara ($645,000), Kerrie and Spence ($415,000), Courtney and Hans ($410,000), Bianca and Carla ($301,000) and Norm and Jess ($209,000), the total combined profit was $1,980,000 above reserve. This is much lower than the Soap Factory result of $2,835,000 over reserve but much more than last year’s Elsternwick series total of $1,220,000. There was a big difference between the winners Hayden and Sara and the rest of the contestant’s results and some of the contestants didn’t seem to be very happy with their winnings.

You would be more disappointed if you were the Cameron Street Richmond contestants who in 2011 combined won much less than all of this year’s contestants apart from Norm and Jess with total winnings of only $225,000. That’s a total difference of $1,755,000 less.  At the auction, we were disappointed to miss out on all five apartments but it is important to stick to your budgets and not overpay.

Both I and the other Real Estate Professionals believed that the penthouse apartments would reach around $3,000,000 with auction competition and the older style three properties would sell for between $2,700,000 to $2,800,000. We were bidding for mainly local investors and downsizers which was a very different buyer segment compared to the Elsternwick series where we bid for local young families and one investor.

The auction order was changed on Friday as a number of the penthouse buyers had pulled out. Originally it was planned to see the penthouses go first and then Kerry and Spence, Sara and Hayden and Courtney and Hans. The Block auction order usually starts with the most popular properties and finishes with the least popular and contestants who are earliest in the auction order are at a big advantage as the buyer pool is greater with more buyers competing. So, the flipping of the auction order to have Kerrie and Spence and Sara and Hayden before the penthouses ultimately gifted the win to Sara and Hayden.

After taking hundreds of buyers through the apartments over the last two and a half months, the consistent feedback was that it would be a two-way horse race between Bianca and Carla and Kerrie and Spence with Norm and Jess in third place. So, potentially, this change in the order gave Sara and Hayden the win that no one expected. No one would have thought Nicole and her local buyer would pay over $3 million and for the property to fetch more than the two penthouse apartments. It was a huge price and the surprise result of the night.

In summary, our tenth Block auction experience was another exciting action-packed night where we bid on all five Gatwick apartments. Our investor clients and one downsizer client were disappointed to miss out although they understood how important it is that we stuck to their set budgets and not get carried away with The Block hype. The TV show continues to have a successful formula although there were a few bumps along the road this time around. My family and our Buyer’s Advocate team enjoyed our involvement with the series again and it’s great to see some positive headlines in the press regarding the Melbourne housing market. The great Australian dream of owning a beautiful home continues to appeal to viewers and this year resulted in good results for Channel 9 and the contestants.

We look forward to being involved in our eleventh Block Series in a row with the overhaul of the Oslo Backpacker’s Hostel in St Kilda which Channel 9 has already purchased.