The Block 2020: Jimmy and Tam win, contestants nab record $3.33m prize money

Queenslanders Jimmy and Tam Wilkins have won The Block for 2020, in a monster auction day that turned out to be the biggest in the show’s 16-season history.

Jimmy and Tam’s renovated 1950s house at 360A New Street, Brighton, smashed its auction reserve of $3.29 million by a whopping $966,000, fetching $4.256 million.

It was one of only two of the five properties on offer that weren’t bought by IT entrepreneur and serial Block buyer Danny Wallis at the auctions – held on Saturday and broadcast on Sunday evening. 

The huge result means Jimmy and Tam also netted the $100,000 winner’s cheque, and they leave the reality renovation program $1.066 million richer, making them the first millionaires in the show’s 13 years. 

“Stoked, absolutely stoked. That is far and beyond anything we ever expected,” Jimmy said. 

“Taking out the win means a whole lot to us, but what means more is that everyone else did really well.”

Gallery: All the past winners of The Block and their prize money

Click to open gallery

Jimmy and Tam’s faces were pale with shock and delight as the other contestants showered them with screams and hugs. 

Mr Wallis bought the house of Sarah and George Bragias – at 362B – for $4,000,002 and Harry and Tash Pavlou – at 364 – for $4 million. Both couples go home with $650,000 – the difference between the sale price and the $3.35 million reserve.

He also scooped up South Australian team Daniel and Jade’s six-bedroom spread at 362A for $3.8 million, which beat its reserve of $3.34 million by $460,000.

West Australians Luke and Jasmin Neuwen’s house, at 360B, sold for $3.856 million against their $3.35 million reserve, taking their winnings to $506,000. 

With the total winnings of $3,332,002, it is the biggest payday for contestants on The Block ever, with Jimmy and Tam’s $1.06 million winnings far eclipsing the previous record of $935,000 for Darren and Dea Jolly at The Block: Triple Threat in South Yarra in 2015. Four couples in that season shared in a $3.165 million prize pool.

View The Block 2021 properties for sale

• House 1, Ronnie and Georgia: 2 Bronte Court, Hampton
• House 2, Mitch and Mark: 4 Bronte Court, Hampton
• House 3, Tanya and Vito: 8 Bronte Court, Hampton
• House 4, Josh and Luke: 10 Bronte Court, Hampton
• House 5, Kirsty and Jesse: 1 Bronte Court, Hampton

The buyer of Jimmy and Tam’s house was Emese Fajk, a fan of the show who moved to Australia from New York a year ago. She inspected the house for the first time the day prior to the auctions, and had her heart set on Jimmy and Tam’s.

“That’s why I went so hard on it and that’s why I didn’t back down,” Ms Fajk said.

“I still can’t believe it. It’s just so amazing.”

“I love the house itself, I love all the features they put into it and I really loved the concept that you see people build it from scratch and I loved seeing that these guys really put everything into it – how much love they put into it.

“Properly setting roots down in Australia was already on the cards, so having a property that you love and you can feel that sort of emotional connection [to] and meet the people that built it, that made all the difference, that’s why I was willing to go all out.”

Ms Fajk, a cybersecurity consultant, said The Block was the first TV program she started watching when she moved to Australia. 

“We were looking, but we just couldn’t find anything we fell in love with,” she said of her property search here. “I fell in love with this one, and I was like, ‘OK, you know what, I gotta have it’.”

Jimmy said he met Ms Fajk just half an hour before buyer registration closed on Friday. 

“As soon as she walked through she fell in love with it even more than what she had seen on the TV show,” he said. 

“It really gave me confidence that she was going to have a crack – I didn’t think she was going to go that hard.”

The Block 2020 record prize money

• Jimmy and Tam: $1.066m ($966,000 over reserve, plus $100,000 winner’s prize)
• Sarah and George: $650,002
• Harry and Tash: $650,000
• Luke and Jasmin: $506,000
• Daniel and Jade: $460,000

Total prize money: $3,332,002

Mr Wallis, who splashed just over $11.8 million, said after the auctions that he had not yet decided what he would do with his three properties, except he was sure he would not be living in any of them.

He said he arrived at the auction wanting “two or three” and in fact bid on all five up for grabs. An Indian multinational IT services and consulting company, HCL Technologies, in September announced plans to acquire Mr Wallis’ company, DWS Limited, in a deal that valued DWS’ equity at $158.2 million.  

“They’re good value for money,” Mr Wallis said, and his favourite was Harry and Tash’s for its large oak tree near the garage. “They get better and better [each year].”

Gallery: All the action from The Block 2020 auction

Click to open gallery

Domain understands that local Melbourne periodontist Sarah Orme was the purchaser of Luke and Jasmin’s house, but selling agent Halli Moore refused to confirm that or comment on the buyer’s identity.

Fears that high reserve prices – that polarised some of the contestants – would dissuade buyers were not realised, and many agents and industry experts actually believe the successful bidders  nabbed themselves a bargain.

Buyers’ advocate Nicole Jacobs, who bid on four of the five houses, was not surprised by the prices paid, saying they represented “amazing value”.

Melbourne father-daughter team Harry and Tash Pavlou narrowly came third – by a mere $2 – thanks to Mr Wallis’ eccentric bidding.

“We did win! We won $650,000,” Tash said. “No one walks away from this not a winner and that’s the beauty of The Block.”

Next year’s season of The Block will be in nearby Bronte Court, Hampton, though teams for 2021 should not necessarily count on Mr Wallis bidding. Asked his thoughts on the Hampton location, he quipped: “Where’s that?”