After what was arguably the most chaotic finale in The Block's history, contestants Sarah-Jane and Tom Calleja have revealed the painful toll of a disappointing result at the auction.
The Melbourne couple's house sold for only $4,100,000.99, which was just $20,000.99 above their $4.08 million reserve price. It’s the lowest profit a Block house has made since Series 9, Glasshouse, in 2014.
In an Instagram post shared on Sunday night, the pair shared that they would be selling the $80,000 Ford Ranger they won during Landscape Week.
"Unfortunately for Tom we will sell the Ford 😂🚙 and we will be walking away with 100k so no complaints from us," Wilson wrote on the couple's shared Instagram account.
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"Even if we walked away with nothing we had the experience of a lifetime and something we can tell our grandkids about! Are we disappointed sure but nothing is ever guaranteed and at this point I think we’ll be fully over it by Tuesday."
The reality stars told 9Entertainment that it was "disappointing" to only walk away with $20k after working tirelessly on their five-bedroom, three-bathroom house over the past three months. After having made financial sacrifices to appear on the Channel 9 reality TV show, the parents of a one-year-old had hoped it would all pay off when the house was eventually sold.
"We spent more than $20,000 of our savings to be here," said Sarah-Jane.
The couple weren't the only team who had unfavourable auction results last night. Each team had renovated a house in Gisborne South in Victoria’s Macedon Ranges, 40 minutes from Melbourne, and their reserves were all the same, sitting at $4,080,000.
Unfortunately two houses — Sharon and Ankur's and Dylan and Jenny's, didn't actually sell on the night. The couples are still in negotiations after attracting a highest bid of $4,075,000, which is below their reserve.
Rachel and Ryan managed to sell their home for $4,249,999.85 in a post-auction negotiation, meaning that they walked away with a profit of $169,000.85.
Ultimately, Western Sydney friends Omar and Oz were named the winners of The Block: Tree Change, selling their property for $5,666,666.66 and making a profit of $1,586,666.66. With the $100k winner's prize money from Channel 9 added to this, Omar and Oz took home a collective $1,686,666.66.
The Block will return with Season 19 in 2023, where a new batch of contestants will build five new family home in Melbourne.
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