PHOTO: There were big highs and some disappointing lows for the cast of The Block 2023 on auction day. Picture: Supplied/Channel 9
In the wild Block auctions, a couple made history by securing the biggest prize ever seen on the show, while another team left empty-handed. And the surprising actions of ‘Lambo Guy’ will leave you astonished. (Spoiler alert)
Childhood sweethearts Steph and Gian have proven that nice guys can come first on The Block, as the Sydney duo walked away with a remarkable $1.75 million in winnings. Their massive windfall now places them at the top of the list of all-time Block prize winners, surpassing the previous record set by Omar and Oz last year. Their house, which was sold for $5 million in a brief yet dramatic auction, was among three properties purchased by the eccentric billionaire, Adrian Portelli.
Steph expressed their initial anxiety when they discovered their reserve price was $400,000 higher than others, especially considering their house had the most land. She revealed, “That was so overwhelming for us. We thought there’s no way we can ever do that [sell for more than $3.35 million]. So, we thought, November 4, House Four so [we were hoping for] $4 million. I was manifesting fours, and then he [Portelli] came out with a five!”
Adrian Portelli, known as “Lambo Guy” after arriving at last year’s Block auctions in a bright yellow Lamborghini, where he narrowly missed out on Omar and Oz’s house, expanded his Block property collection this year. He invested $4.3 million in Eliza and Liberty’s place and another $3.1 million in Kyle and Leslie’s home. The sale price of Melbourne sisters Eliza and Liberty’s house also made them millionaires, selling for $1.05 million above reserve.
The pair is planning a celebratory vacation with Steph and Gian, jokingly suggesting that the winners should foot the bill. “A holiday first, then an expensive handbag, and then a [deposit for a] house,” Eliza, who works as an assistant to Hamish Blake and Andy Lee, laughed.
However, not everyone was in a celebratory mood. For Leah and Ash, whose house failed to meet the reserve and was passed in at $2.9 million, the nerve-wracking wait for a result continues. Their hopes were dashed when their most promising buyer collapsed during Steph and Gian’s auction, requiring medical attention and being taken away in an ambulance.
Leah and Ash decided to withdraw from the auction when they realized that Wallis and Portelli weren’t willing to increase their bid, leaving them without an interested buyer. Ash, an experienced property flipper, stated, “This isn’t our first rodeo, we’ve sold lots of properties before, so we know how this works.”
Leah added that the results on that Saturday highlighted the importance of auction order and house selection, rather than contestants’ construction and design expertise.
West Australians Lesley and Kyle expressed disappointment with their $130,000 prize, finding it hard to accept the results due to the significant variation in winnings among contestants.
South Australians Kristy and Brett, who had a disappointing result in their auction, blamed their auctioneer, Sam Inan from Belle Real Estate, for giving away their reserve price of $2.97 million, which ultimately hurt their chances of winning big. Kristy also believed that Inan’s actions had a negative impact on the other houses’ reserves.
Despite some viewers’ complaints about the show’s toxicity, Kristy emphasized that there were no hard feelings among the contestants, and she had no regrets about her time on the show. She pointed out that popularity with viewers seemed to play a significant role in the contestants’ earnings, with fan favorites like Steph, Gian, Eliza, and Liberty making millions while the more polarizing contestants left with much less.
SOURCE: NEWS.COM.AU