Omar and Oz have become the biggest winners in The Block’s history when their house sold for $5.586m, pocketing close to $1.7m in winnings.
But it was all downhill from there as the remaining four houses only drew bidding above the reserve for one property, and the other three all passed in.
Omar and Oz celebrate their auction result with Scott Cam. Picture: Supplied
Omar said it was hard to smile over their record-making haul when the other contestants had barely turned a profit or failed to sell at all.
“We built an amazing home and at times it was very hard and very stressful,” Oz said.
“We spent so many nights not sleeping so, we definitely did deserve to do very well coming out of this Block season. In saying that, I am sure everyone else worked hard too. But we’ve got young kids, and a family back home so this money is going to be very helpful.”
| Auction | House | Reserve | Sold price | Prize money |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | House 5: Omar and Oz | $4.08m | $5,666,666.66 | $1,686,666.66 |
| 2 | House 1: Tom and Sarah Jane | $4.08m | $4,100,000.99 | $20,000.99 |
| 3 | House 2: Rachel and Ryan | $4.08m | Did not sell at auction: Negotiated sale for $4.25m | $170,000 |
| 4 | House 3: Ankur and Sharon | $4.08m | Passed in at $4.075m | TBC |
| 5 | House 4: Dylan and Jenny | $4.08m | Passed in at $4.075m | TBC |
Sold for $5,666,666.66 to Danny Wallis
Reserve: $4.08
Profit: $1,586,666.66 + $100,000 winner’s prize.
Total: $1,686,666.66
Omar and Oz have been crowned winners of The Block 2022. Picture: Supplied
Oz: “After our auction, we were pretty happy. We felt as though everyone would walk away with some money because it was a lot higher reserve. So it’s pretty disappointing. I think it kind of puts a damper on how we initially felt.”
Sold for: $4,100,000.99 to Danny Wallis
Reserve: $4.08
Profit: $20,000.99
Sarah-Jane and Tom only took home $20k in winnings. Picture: Supplied
Sarah-Jane: “We needed to make over $60,000 to pay for what we lost being here, like our income and spending our savings. But we won a car in week 12. So we can sell that for $85,000 and we won $20k. So, you win some, you lose some.”
“I’m devastated with 20 grand, but that’s so outweighed by the experience and the opportunities that I’ve had. Like, I went to the f***ing Birdcage. I live two kilometres from Broadmeadows and I was in the Birdcage twice. And not even in the s***ty tents. I was in Lexus. So, it’s been a ball. People are dying in the world. I am a social worker. I deal with people who are living rough and who have real problems. Winning $20,000 is not a problem.”
Passed in at $4,05,000.
Negotiated sale for $4.25m to Danny Wallis
Profit: $170,000
Reserve: $4.08
Rachel: “We’re in shock. We’ve just come from the highest of high in the first auction to the lowest of low in the second auction. And then we’re strategically doing things and taking people into other rooms for the third auction. So, I think we’re all in a lot of shock because we’ve all worked incredibly hard. And to be honest, all of us deserve what happened in the first auction.”
Passed in at $4.075
Still in negotiation
Reserve: $4.08
Sharon and Ankur’s property did not end up selling. Picture: Supplied
Sharon: “I don’t think the series showed our property in the light that it is, which is a magnificent property. So, we worked against the clock to try to get people in. And it is a magnificent property. But we’ve learned a lot from our experience and we feel very positive about the outcome. This is the first day that I haven’t cried.”
Passed in at $4.075
Still in negotiation
Reserve: $4.08
Jenny and Dylan were disappointed by the auctions after their home passed in. Picture: Supplied
Jenny: “When it [the house] was about to go for $4.1m we were screaming ‘No, no, no’ at the TV because that’s not what you want [a $20,000 profit]. It’s not what you want to come away with. In all honesty, we could have been at home and sold our property that we’ve just done and made way more money. “
Dylan: “The positive of being last today was seeing that was the flavour of the day, that things weren’t that hot in the room. So we could jump up quickly and get it passed in and have control later on.”
Serial The Block buyer Danny Wallis purchased three of the homes on 2022’s series, spending more than $14m.
This beat the technology multi-millionaire’s The Block 2021 spending spree, where he spent $12.2m at that auction night, bidding on all five houses but eventually walking away with three.
Wallis has an estimated net worth of around $120m
Scott Cam sits with Jenny and Dylan at the end of their auction. Picture: Supplied
Block host Scott Cam was visibly frustrated by the outcome, taking issue with the amount of attendees not making a bid.
“The Block has always been a rollercoaster but this was very unique and very unusual,” Cam told News Corp Australia.
The long-time host was particularly shattered for Tom and Sarah-Jane who, he felt, had been the hardest working Block contestants.
Scott Cam and Shelly Craft on auction day. Picture: Supplied
“I think that [auctioneer and Block veteran] David Wood would have thought it was heading towards $5m in the second auction [on the back of the success with Omar and Oz’s sale], but it stalled $20,000 over reserve and he was taking $10,000 bids when he really should have been taking $100,000 bids and kept it below reserve so it could be passed in and negotiated later.
“But we’re about to negotiate two more next week and they’ll probably get $200,000 or $300,000. So, the strategy, which we told them, is don’t let it go $10,000 above reserve.”
Cam was disappointed so many of the registered auction attendees had failed to make a single bid.
“What’s the point of coming?” he exclaimed.
“They’re registered and we have got buyers’ advocates with clients and they never put their hand up once. So why are they coming in with $3.9m when they know the price guide is $4 to $4.4m. I know that Frank [Valentic] pulled out at $3.9m, so what’s the point of being here Frank? It’s ridiculous.
Scott Cam called out buyers’ advocates like Frank Valentic (left) for not placing a bid. Picture: Supplied
“We do we scrutinise [the potential bidders] and we’re loyal to those people, because they have bought a lot of properties in the past, but you can’t come here and do that.”
This year contestants on the 18th season of the reality juggernaut had to renovate a farmhouse on a rural lifestyle block north of Melbourne.
As well as tough conditions on site during a record wet winter and spring, contestants faced supply and labour shortages and ended up selling into a difficult property market, with rising interest rates and falling prices affecting sales around the country.
Omar and Oz were able to ride all that out with their property selling for a whopping $5,666,666.66 thanks to a bidding war between veteran buyer Danny Wallis and newcomer
Adrian Portelli in the opening auction of the day.
The second auction spelled trouble however as series favourites’, Tom and Sarah-Jane, only netted themselves $20,000 for their efforts.
“You know the risks coming into it,” Sarah-Jane shrugged.
“I’ve watched many, many seasons. I’ve been sitting on the couch when people have not made what they wanted and felt sorry for them.
“So, I’m not ashamed or embarrassed. We worked our arses off. We had the best time ever.
“I made 20 grand, and s*** it was 20 grand more than I had yesterday.”
The team’s react to Tom and Sarah-Jane’s auction result. Picture: Supplied
The lacklustre bidding at Tom and Sarah-Jane’s auction saw the remaining three teams change their strategies and opt to haggle their price behind closed doors, rather than risk selling for a fraction above their $4.08 reserve prices.
The gamble paid off for Ryan and Rachel, who negotiated a sale of $4.25m after passing in their property.
But it will be a nervous wait now for Sharon and Ankur and Jenny and Dylan who still hadn’t closed a deal on their homes.
Block host Scott Cam wasn’t the only one left frustrated by the day.
Ryan and Rachel said their $170,000 profit would barely cover the loss of their two incomes, their childcare costs and their assorted expenses for the three-month shoot.
“We ate into our savings,” Rachel said.
“So, this [their winnings] is just recouping.”
Although Jenny and Dylan’s house is yet to sell, the blonde apprentice chippie believed they’d “definitely lost money being on the show”.
Jenny was also annoyed Omar and Oz had given themselves an advantage on auction day by orchestrating a bidding war between Danny Wallis and Portelli, a wealthy property investor they had schmoozed behind the scenes.
Jenny thought Omar and Oz had gotten an unfair advantage on auction day. Picture: Supplied
“Omar and Oz had been hanging out with that guy for weeks and they were good friends with him, so we knew the game they were going to play,” she said.
“That’s all you needed with Danny [Wallis] to put someone in [to bid] and he was going to go higher. Everyone knows that.
“But we don’t know people in that price range of life, unfortunately. So, they’ve just got one up on us, like they did the whole time.”
The sun sets on auction day with mixed results for the teams. Picture: Supplied
Jenny wished the series had been set in the city rather than in Gisborne where wet weather made construction particularly arduous for all the contestants.
Sharon agreed, saying this season had been a learning experience for them as well as the producers.
“I don’t think like The Block will take on properties like of this magnitude ever again,” she said.
source: rea.com.au
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