Top 5 Biggest Winners and Losers in The Block’s History
From million-dollar wins to contestants walking away empty-handed, The Block auctions have never been short of surprises.
It’s not always the highest sale price that wins, but the property that sells for the highest price above reserve. Contestants’ winnings are made up of however much money their property sells for over reserve, with the winners netting an additional $100,000 in prize money.
After a drama-packed 20th season of the stalwart renovation series, the auctions of the Phillip Island properties ended with a bang. For the first time since 2021, all five properties sold for a profit — with three teams cracking the top five biggest winners in the show’s history.
With the largest amount of prize money ever given away on the show this year, we take a look back at the five biggest auction winners and losers.
The five biggest winners of The Block
1. Season 19: Steph and Gian – $1.75 million
It took just three bids (and a whole lot of drama) for Steph and Gian to take the mantle of the biggest Block win in history.
Big-bidding Adrian Portelli secured the Sydney couple’s home with a knockout $5 million bid – a $1 million increase on the previous bid. The sale was $1.65 million above the reserve for 20 Charming Street, netting the couple the win, and total prize money of $1.75 million.
Ray White auctioneer Tom Panos, who has sold multiple properties on across several seasons, said the result reflected the quality of the house Steph and Gian presented.
“It’s an extraordinary result,” he said. “It’s one that I did not expect but one that I think that the buyer will not regret either because history will show this is one of the best homes that’s ever been delivered on The Block.”
2. Season 18: Omar and Oz – $1,686,666.66
The biggest houses, the biggest blocks and, until this season, the biggest prize ever for a season of The Block.
The first season to be set outside a metropolitan area introduced us to Adrian “Mr Lambo” Portelli, who entered a bidding war with serial Block buyer Danny Wallis for Omar and Oz’s house.
Wallis eventually emerged victorious, paying $5,666,666.66 for the house and jetting Omar and Oz straight to the winner’s list with a $1,586,666.66 profit plus $100,000 for first place.
Selling agent Aaron Hill of Ray White Sunbury said the bidding war, during which Wallis lodged numerous bids at varying increments, was a great result.
“We had those two buyers fight it out, but Danny wanted to be The Block king – and he still is,” Hill said.
“We mentioned in the auctions that there was “a new Block king out there”, and Danny didn’t like it. And so it was a fight for the end.”
3. Season 20: Maddy and Charlotte –$1,650,000
The girls from Sydney might have entered this season late, but that didn’t matter come auction day when they were crowned the youngest ever winners of The Block.
In a lightning fast auction with just two bids, veteran Block buyer Adrian Portelli adopted a similar bidding strategy to the one he used to purchase Steph and Gian’s home the previous season. Bidding opened at $2.5 million, already $550,000 above reserve, before Portelli quickly jumped in with a knock-out bid of $1m to secure the keys.
With a sale price of $3.5 million, plus the $100,000 prize money, the Block’s youngest ever contestants walked away with $1.65 million for their efforts.
O’Brien Auctioneer Paul Tzamalis said they had strong interest in the property leading up to the auction but that it was no sure thing.
“Based on the four results before I don’t think anyone could pick what it was going to get”, he said.
“We knew there was going to be competition” he said, “And hey if house 2, got $3.3 arguably our house was as good or if not better, so it deserved it.”
4. Season 20: Courtney and Grant – $1,350,000
Going first on auction day is a hotly contested spot, and in the case of Courtney and Grant of House 2, it almost proved to be the winning position.
In a hotly contested auction, it came down to a final bidding war between Block veteran Adrian Portelli and first-time Block bidder Jacob Najjar of Thirsty Monkey acai bars.
After Najjar made what at any other auction would have been a knock-out bid of $3 million, he and Portelli traded $100,000 rises before Najjar bowed out at $3.3 million, making Portelli the new owner of House 2.
The couple, who pocketed the $1.35 million in prize money, told Domain they had been hustling hard to drum up genuine interest in their property.
“We spoke to about 100 to 200 people,” Grant said. “I think I’ve annoyed everybody on the top 100 [Rich List], so I do apologise if you got multiple emails from me.”
Clearly a strategy that paid off.
5. Season 16: Jimmy and Tam – $1,066,000
It was the season-winning sale that turned out not to be a sale at all, but Jimmy and Tam still walked away from The Block 2020 with just over $1 million in prize money.
The couple were mired in controversy after the winning bidder of their home subsequently failed to pay the deposit on the property at 360a New Street in Brighton.
Mystery woman Emese Fajk outbid Danny Wallis for House 5, paying $4.256 million for the home, which was $966,000 over the reserve.
While the home was subsequently placed back on the market following Fajk’s inability to pay the deposit, Channel Nine confirmed the Brisbane couple were still the winners, netting them a total prize of $1.066 million.
“The process of the auction, sale and follow-up was conducted in full regard of the appropriate regulations for property auctions in Victoria and monitored by the Victoria Department of Consumer Affairs,” a Nine spokesperson said in a statement following the fallout.
“Nine have confirmed Jimmy and Tam remain the winners of The Block 2020 as they would have secured the win on the previous bid. We will now work with them and their agents to finalise a sale as soon as possible and we are confident of a positive result for this unique property.”
The five biggest losers of The Block
Season 18: Dylan and Jenny – $0
Gold Coast couple Dylan and Jenny’s home failed to sell on a roller-coaster auction night where Omar and Oz pocketed $1.686 million and other constants struggled to meet their reserves.
Bidding for House 4 came within $5000 of the $4.08 million, but was passed in in the hopes of negotiating a sale price above the reserve post auction.
But it wasn’t to be, and the home remained unsold for nearly six months before eventually selling for $3.9 million, $180,000 below its original reserve.
Season 4: Amie and Katrina – $0
In a season when only one house sold at auction (and for just $15,000 over reserve), sisters Amie and Katrina were left with nothing to show for their 12 weeks of work after their Richmond house sold for exactly the reserve price after auction.
The home at 41 Cameron Street, Richmond, sold for $860,000, with the sisters describing their experience as a “waste of time”.
Season 9: Darren and Deanne – $10,000
Darren and Deanne’s first appearance on The Block left them reeling after their apartment in the Glasshouse sold for just $10,000 above reserve.
Former Collingwood and Sydney AFL player Darren likened the result to losing a grand final.
Season 9: Michael and Carlene – $10,000
Fellow Glasshouse contestants Michael and Carlene also experienced a shock on auction night, netting just $10,000 in prize money following the sale of their apartment.
While it was a bitter pill to swallow, the Queensland couple used the platform to launch their home design and renovation company Cedar & Suede and have since renovated multiple properties and some vintage caravans.
They’ve also stayed in the television renovation genre as hosts of 9Life’s Ready Set Reno, Open Homes Australia and Renovate or Rebuild.
Season 18: Tom and Sarah-Jane – $20,000.99
Hot favourites to take out the whole show in last season’s The Block: Treechange, Tom and Sarah-Jane sent shockwaves through the show when their property sold for $4,100,000.99 – just $20,000.99 over reserve.
The couple’s auction followed that of record-breakers Omar and Oz, but the money failed to flow through to the fan favourites.
“I’m devastated with $20,000 but that’s so outweighed by the experience, the opportunity … it’s been a ball,” Sarah-Jane said after the auction.
“You know the risks coming into it … I’m not ashamed or embarrassed. We worked our asses off [and] had the best time ever. If I made $20,000, well that’s $20,000 more than I had yesterday.”
Eagle-eyed fans will have seen plenty more of Tom this season, with the tradie lending his plumbing skills to the teams on Charming Street, with a fleet of plumbers for hipages.
This article is brought to you by Snooze. It’s amazing what 50 years of Snooze can do.
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