The Block contestants have expressed their disappointment at how high their reserves were set.
The five houses in Elsternwick in Melbourne went under the hammer this weekend and were all priced similarly.
Josh and Elyse, Sarah and Jason, and Ronnie and Georgia all had the same reserve price of $2.62 million, while Hannah and Clint and Sticks and Wombat’s reserve price was $2.52 million.
“The reserves were a bit too high,” carpenter Josh, 28, says.
“I thought realistically they should have been between $2.2-$2.4 million.”
“When you can get a bigger parcel of land with an old heritage home for around $2.7 million around this area, they were very, very pricey reserves.”
Ronnie and Georgia say their real estate agent had advised them that meeting the reserve price would be a big ask.
“They understand what the market is doing and they said there’s no chance you’re going to sell it for $3 million,” Georgia, 33, says.
Ronnie confirms the teams were shocked.
“We thought the reserves were going to be about $2.2 or $2.3 million,” the 41-year-old says.
After they received the reserve prices the night before the auctions, some of the teams gathered to express their dismay.
“We had Jason and Sarah over drinking at our house and we were all like, ‘we’re screwed’,” Ronnie adds.
Melbourne couple Josh and Elyse won The Block 2017
Jason, 46, adds: “I thought the prices were crazy over-the-top.”
However The Block host Scott Cam points out all five houses eventually did all sell which was a great result.
As for why some made more than others, it can come down to personal taste.
“You’ve got to build a good house,” Scott, 54, says.
“If you compromise in any way or your design style isn’t quite there, well, you know the buyers don’t get an emotional connection with your house and they go next-door.”
