The Block 2023: Live coverage of the auctions
This live article is no longer being updated.
- Steph and Gian win record $1.75m in shock auction finale
5 of the biggest questions to come out of The Block this year
How the auctions unfolded, house by house
The five all-time winners and losers in Block history
The 5 biggest shocks of The Block 2023 auctions
Who was The Block’s mystery bidder in all white
9.15pm: Here’s a break down of all the auction results
| Order | House | Reserve | Sold for |
Prize money
|
| 1 | House 4: Steph & Gian | $3,350,000 | $5,000,000 | $1,650,000 + $100,000 |
| 2 | House 5: Eliza & Liberty | $3,250,000 | $4,300,000 | $1,050,000 |
| 3 | House 3: Kristy & Brett | $2,970,000 | $3,035,000 | $65,000 |
| 4 | House 1: Kyle & Leslie | $2,970,000 | $3,100,000 | $130,000 |
| 5 | House 2: Leah & Ash | $2,970,000 | Passed in | $0 |
9.14pm: It might not quite have been the outcome everyone wanted but we have to congratulate STEPH AND GIAN: THE BLOCK 2023 WINNERS!! The couple are taking home $1.75 million, including the $100,000 winner’s prize! Woooooo!
9:12pm: Well, I’ll be honest, that was a bit of an anti-climax. The teams are all hugging. A day full of ups and downs.
9.10pm: “Dave Hughes is going to bring his wife back,” agent Noel Susay says. It could work out for the pair.
9.09pm: Leah and Ash are making a call to their agents, they’re thinking about passing it in. The property is not on the market. “If no one is having a crack, we may as well pass it in,” Ash says. “We have had every possible auction scenario today,” Shelley says. Ain’t that the truth!
It’s been decided. House 2 is getting passed in at $2.9 million.
9.05pm: Buxton agent Halli Moore accepts an opening bid from Frank of $2.9m, but the room is quiet, No one is looking interested. Danny is quiet. Adrian is quiet. Halli is trying for more. It’s not moving.
9.03pm: They look fantastic, but nervous, too. Scotty says the person who fainted earlier at Steph and Gian’s auction was going to bid on House 2 – so that’s a buyer out for them.
9.01pm: It’s definitely the brightest house on The Block!
8.59pm: Leah and Ash are up next. Their reserve is the same as House 1 and 3 – $2.97 million. You’d have to assume they’d be pretty worried after seeing the results of House 1 and 3.
8.56pm: It’s all quiet in here. The anticipation is killing me! And it’s SOLD to Portelli for $3.1 million. Kyle and Leslie get a profit of $130,000. Leslie is crying. It’s a mixed bag of feelings, that’s for sure.
8.54pm: Frank’s on the phone waiting for instructions. Could this climb anymore??
8.52pm: “To win The Block you need to make $1.65 million,” Scotty says to Kyle and Leslie. Scotty’s trying to comfort them by telling them who’s in the room: Frank, Danny, Adrian, Hughesy. Anything could happen.
Danny, true to form comes in with a bid of $2,951,000.09. That’s $0 profit for Kyle and Leslie. But the auctioneer is working hard to draw more bids. Here comes Portelli with a #3.1m bid.
8.47pm: So Kyle and Leslie are up next and gosh, it’s anyone guess how this is going to go.
8.46pm: Kristy and Brett’s House 3 sells for $3.035m, getting a profit of $65,000. They’re devastated.
8.45pm: “Australia got what they wanted,” Kristy says.
8.43pm: Everyone is shocked and disappointed at the way this is unfolding. Inan is back trying to garner more bids. Frank is jumping on the phone but Inan is calling it. Everyone is out.
8.39pm: They feel he hasn’t stuck to their game plan and that he offended Adrian and Danny and that’s why they weren’t bidding. That felt brutal to watch.
8.37pm: Kristy and Brett, and Scotty, have absolutely roasted their agent.
8.36pm: Kristy and Brett don’t look happy but it’s climbing. Every time Frank bids, he gets a counter bid fired straight back. Danny’s not bidding anymore. Portelli hasn’t made one bid.
8.31pm: Sam Inan from Belle Property is calling the auction today. Frank kicks things off with a$2.8m bid. And it’s rapid fire back and forth. Danny jumps in with $2,960,000.50. Frank asks if the house is on the market. Inan says they are. Kristy and Brett are seething saying “This is so off script after everything we discussed with him last night.” Kristy and Brett are sitting at a profit of $0.
8.30pm: Kristy can’t even. Scotty calls it: “This is the most bizarre auction day.”
8.28pm: House 3 is up next. They have a reserve of $2.97 million, less than Houses 4 and 5. How’s this going to go?
8.22pm: And is SOLD to Adrian Portelli for $4.3 million, netting the girls a profit of $1.050 million. The girls are in tears. I’m almost in tears. Gaaaaaah, what a ROLLERCOASTER.
8.20pm: Frank says you can swell it to Adrian. Renna is calling it… once … twice … Danny’s chimes in again: “He can have it [Portelli]”. Frank is definitely out. HANG ON A MINUTE. WHAT?? Portelli has just bid against himself – AGAIN. It’s with Portelli at $4.3 million.
8.16pm: OMG Danny again! His first bid is $3,099,999.99 – it’s a tongue twister! Poretlli jumps in with $41. million bid. Danny is shaking his head, he’s not bidding any more. Frank’s making a call to a client. Danny’s thinking. WHAT? Portelli has just jumped in with another bid against himself – a $4.2m bid.
8.15pm: Scotty reminds the girls how last year’s auctions unfolded – geez, thanks Scotty. Didn’t need that reminder. Eliza is still looking for a husband.
8.13pm: The girls would love a family to buy their family home. Who will take home the keys?
8.12pm: Eliza ana Liberty were the self-appointed underdogs this season. But geez, they’ve been fun to watch, haven’t they?!
8.06pm: Eliza and Liberty are up next. With the way Steph and Gian’s auction went, surely the girls are feeling confident.
8.04pm: The auction has obviously paused and the girl is taken away in the ambulance. But the auction is recommencing from Frank’s $4m bid. Tom Panos is calling it… hang one, what’s Danny doing, “nah, I’ve got no cents”. Final call! Portelli jumps in with a bid of $5 MILLION!!! Can you believe it?!?! That’s a profit of $1.65 million for Steph and Gian. Panos is selling to Portelli for $5 MILLION! Steph and Gian cannot believe it. Neither can I to be honest. That is WILD.
7.57pm: OMG SOMEONE HAS FAINTED. This has never happened at a Block auction before. How awful. I hope they’re ok.
7.55pm: Danny Wallis signature bid of a whopping $3,999,999.99. Frank jumps in with $4 million. THIS IS HUUUUUGE.
7.53pm: IT’S GO TIIIIIIIIIME FOR STEPH AND GIAN! Scotty has tissues at the ready…
Adrian Portelli is in the room. Danny Wallis is there, too. So is buyer’s agent Frank Valentic. And what’s this, comedian Dave “Hughesy” Hughes is in the house.
7.52pm: Not sure what Japandi is? Find out here.
7.50pm: Time to start prettying up for the auctions. Steph had a dream they won a Mitre 10 gift voucher, and that’s it.
7.48pm: Steph and Gian’s agent Aaron Hill is worried by the reserve price. Eliza and Liberty’s agent Nick Renna says “that’s a very high reserve for us”. House 3 agents Sam Inan and Julian Cannata think they can work with the reserve they were given and are thrilled they’re going third. House 1’s agents don’t seem too bothered. House 2’s agent Halli Moore says the reserve doesn’t matter for them.
7.41pm: And reserves are:
House 1: $2.97m
House 2: $2.97m
House 3: $2.97m
House 4: $3.35m
House 5: $3.25m
With the highest reserve price, you can see why Steph and Gian are so upset.
7.39pm: OH WOW, they’re gutted! Auction order is as follows:
1st: House 4
2nd: House 5
3rd: House 3
4th: House 1
5th: House 2
7.37pm: OK, so Steph and Gian are going to go first, Eliza and Liberty second, but spots three, four and five and STILL be fought over. It’s looking like Scotty is going to have to pull them out of a hat. Scotty says “if we can’t come to an agreement we have to do this.”
7.34pm: Are Steph and Gian the most beautiful couple ever?!
7.32pm: Oh no, Steph’s crying.
7.31pm: Gian says he’s not sure if they should go first. Gian thinks whoever goes first will sent the benchmark for everyone else. Alice’s suggestion is that the house with the most buyers interested should go first. Or suggested order is House 4, 5, 3, 2, 1 – Kyle and Leslie don’t want this at all. Everyone looks so tense. And this isn’t going anywhere.
7.28pm: House 1 reserve is $2.97 million. House 4 is $3.35 million. House 5’s is $3.25 million. They’re shocked. No one wants to go last. “Our house is not the house for last,” Leah says.
7.22pm: House 5’s agent has told them that if the reserve is at a certain price, they wouldn’t make any money. And they’re there. This doesn’t bode well.
7.20pm: Nerves are high. Contestants don’t have to show each other their reserves. Kyle and Leslie look defeated already. So do Kristy and Brett. Steph and Gian and Eliza and Liberty look sick.
7.18pm: Time to find out reserves! “I hope they’re 1950s prices.” Fingers crossed, but I doubt it.
7.17pm The discussions begin. Everyone wants to go second… well that’s not an option. Scotty says if they can’t agree he’s going to have to pull names out of a hat. Kristy doesn’t want to leave it to fate.
7.15pm The contestants are looking to Alice for advice on the auction order. Alice says the market is in a “very mixed state.”
7.10pm: Here’s Scotty, Shelley and Alice. Scotty’s been thinking … that sounds dangerous! He suggests they try working out the auction order without knowing the reserves. This sounds like TROUBLE!
7.08pm: Everyone is speculating on what the reserves might be… and pretty nervous about it too. It’s 24 hours til auction time. The girls think they and Steph and Gian will have the highest reserves. This has ben a dramatic season so how is this going to unfold…
7.06pm: Scotty’s the star of the show. WOAH. Elvis himself delivers Scotty the reserves on stage.
7.04pm: Is this forced team bonding? It certainly looks like it. Scotty’s taking the teams out for a night at the theatre so see Elvis. FUN!
7.02pm: Wow, seeing 12 weeks condensed into a few seconds like this, you can really appreciate how much work these guys have put in.
7.01pm: IT’S SHOW TIME!
6.58pm: Two minutes until show tiiiiiiiiime.
6.55pm: Settle in on the couch, get your bevvy of choice – chamomile tea for me tonight, I’m equal parts nervous and excited! – and strap in. It’s almost GO TIME!
6.51pm: It’s almost show time! Let’s take a tour of the five properties going under the hammer tonight.
6.45pm: Does auction order really matter? Well, it depends. Find out how auction order has impacted results over the years.
6.30pm: Who do you think will win tonight? We asked our resident Block experts for their predictions, here’s what they had to say.
6.15pm: Do you have a favourite Block house? We sure do! Here’s our pick of the best Block properties from the past 20 years.
6pm: Ever wondered how the auctions actually work, or what really goes on behind the scenes? We asked ex-contestant Rachel Carr to give us the downlow on what happened in her season, the infamous Gisborne auctions. Find out here.
5.48pm: The Block has been at the forefront of building and design trends over the years. We looked back at the five most wow-factor features in 20 years of The Block.
5.31pm: House prices have gone gangbusters since The Block first aired in 2003. Let’s go back in time and see what the property market looked like back then.
5.15pm: We got the judges together – Shaynna, Darren, Neale and Marty – and asked them what their major property ‘icks’ were. Here’s what they had to say.
5pm: As well as welcoming five fresh-faced contestants, we also saw the introduction of a new judge. Here’s everything you need to know about Marty Fox, real estate agent, serial property flipper and chief executive of real estate agency WhiteFox.
4.45pm: After making a tree-change in 2022, The Block crew packed up and headed back to the suburbs of Melbourne, settling on five charming houses in the aptly-named Charming Street in Hampton East. Find out more about the family friendly suburb here.
4.30pm: Can you believe The Block has been on our screens for 20 years? The show first aired in 2003 with Jamie Durie as host and contestants renovating apartments in Sydney.
Read more about how the show hooked the nation from executive producer, Julian Cress.
4.15pm: It doesn’t feel that long ago that a new batch of fresh-faced contestants rolled up, ready to take on The Block. Let’s revisit the teams and find out why they applied for the country’s most popular renovation show.
4.05pm: It’s almost time to call “tools down” on season 19 of The Block. I can’t wait to see how things pan out tonight. Let’s look at each of the homes going under the hammer:
House 1: Kyle and Leslie
House 2: Leah and Ash
House 3: Kristy and Brett
House 4: Steph and Gian
House 5: Eliza and Liberty
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