The youngest-ever contestants on The Block, Sydney sisters Maddy and Charlotte Harry pocketed a huge $1.65 million win over the weekend at the most lucrative Block auction the series has ever seen.
It was another roller coaster ride of a season for Channel Nines ‘Blockheads’ this year as the show’s 20th anniversary saw teams tasked with transforming five holiday homes on Melbourne’s coastal holiday hotspot, Philip Island.
But it seems 12 weeks of sweat and tears on the tools (and a few dramatic exits) have finally paid off as this weekend’s finale auction saw the Block properties blow viewers away with their record-breaking profits.
The real star of the show was House 1 – the final one of the day – helmed by now-millionaire sisters Maddy and Charlotte Harry after a shock buy from long-time Block buyer Adrian Portelli skyrocketed bidding to $3.5 million right out of the gate.
This massive bid came in $1.55 million above the house’s reserve price of $1.95, skyrocketing the sisters into first place and netting the pair a cool $1.65 million dollars profit between them, including a tidy $100,000 winners prize.
“It took us a second to be like, ‘No, no. Like, you just won The Block.’ And I think I was a bit of a stunned mullet,” Maddy said at the auction.
“I was expecting anticipation and to be, like, ‘Oh, what’s gonna happen next?’ It was like, ‘Well, you’ve won.’ It’s like … time to go. It was the quickest auction of the day; it was over so quickly.”
Maddy and Charlotte’s path to victory wasn’t easy either, after stepping in with 24 hours’ notice to replace Perth couple Jesse and Paige after they unexpectedly quit in week four of the competition.
Portelli told reporters afterwards that seeing what the girls had struggled through on the show since their arrival is what enticed him into his record-breaking bid on their house.
“I just saw the girls having a hard time and just getting bullied, and I don’t stand for that shit,” he said.
“They deserve it. I think they just had a hard time throughout the show.”
Competing Blockheads Grant Freemand and his wife Courtney Mclnnes from House 2 also cleaned up nicely on the day, with their massive opening bid from Danny Wallis of “$2 million minus four cents” setting the tone for the rest of the price auction.
However, Wallis was soon left behind as a two-horse race emerged between Adrian Portelli and brand-new Block bidder Jacob Najjar, the owner of the Thirsty Monkey chain of acai shops.
Finally, the hammer fell to Portelli for $3.3 million, netting Grant and Courtney a massive $1.35 million profit.
“Oh my gosh, we both said like $500,000 – if we had sold the house for that – that would have been a high benchmark,” Courtney said, laughing.
House 4 couple Brad and Kylie Baker also pocketed a tidy $650,000 profit with their home selling for $2.6 million after Portelli came in at the last minute and knocked out two other bidders.
The Cairns couple with four children wept to host Scotty Cam describing how it had “all been worth it” despite the controversy on the show.
“[The money] just takes so much pressure off us, like with the kids … it just means that we won’t actually physically have to be working all day every day,” Kylie said.
Up next, House 5’s Kristian and Mimi were the third couple to walk away millionaires after a mystery buyer scooped up the property for a whopping $2.93 million, netting the pair $1.03 million in profit.
It was later revealed that the mystery man was actually a buyer’s advocate acting on Portelli’s behalf.
Fourth in the auction order were Ricky and Haydn of House 3. While their “fun house” didn’t quite net them the win they were hoping, the pair still walked away $750,000 richer as Portelli jumped in at the very end with a $2.7 million bid to seal the deal.
All-in-all, it was a clean sweep by billionaire entrepreneur Adrian, who revealed to reporters off-camera that this year would be his last appearance on the show.
Despite coming in second last, the boys were over the moon with their $750,000 profit, telling reporters afterwards that had already “felt like winners” before the auction.
“Fun happened. Money happened,” Ricky laughed, as Haydn added: “Babies happened.”
Celebrating with the cast and crew afterwards, The Block co-creator and executive producer Julian Cress said he was relieved at how successful this year’s results were.
“For me, for [host] Scott Cam, because we’re together in a room with all the contestants during their auctions, it’s definitely the most nervous day of our year,” he said. “And we’re not nervous about the ratings, because we know people are going to watch.
“We’re nervous for the contestants because we’ve stood back and watched them put their heart and soul into this, and when they don’t do well, it is crushing. And when they have a day like today, then we can really celebrate.”
