The stakes are high for The Block’s Rick and Tayla, but their House 5 agent Ash Marton is keeping his eyes firmly on the prize as auction day approaches.
Representing the father-daughter duo alongside his team at Ash Marton Realty, the Mount Eliza agent is preparing for an auction unlike any other. Rick and Tayla’s home has a $3.45 million reserve, sitting below its original $3.6 million to $3.9 million price guide, and this year’s auction comes with an unprecedented twist: Victoria’s new property transparency laws require reserves to be publicly disclosed at least seven days before the big day.
For Ash, that early disclosure could be an unexpected advantage.
“This will be our first auction under Victoria’s new property transparency laws,” Ash admits to TV WEEK. “The reserve has been announced, so buyers know well in advance what it is. In the setting of The Block, that clarity could work in our favour. Some buyers may have assumed the reserve would be SELLr, particularly given the original guide of $3.6 million to $3.9 million.
“Knowing the reserve in advance may bring more people into the conversation and help build competition. I think the reserves are very reasonable and give us good reason to look forward to a strong auction and a great result for Rick and Tayla.”
With millions of dollars on the line, however, a reasonable reserve is only part of the equation. The real question is whether enough buyers will be ready to compete when the auctioneer calls for bids.
Ash says he and his team are approaching the day with an “abundance mindset”, but he knows there are no guarantees, particularly with five Block homes competing for attention in the same location on the same day.
“Mount Eliza doesn’t have a strong auction culture, so five Block homes going to auction here on the same day is unusual,” Ash explains. “But this is The Block, and as we all know, it can be unpredictable. The biggest variable is the level of competition on the day. We’re not dwelling on worst case scenarios.”
That unpredictability is part of what makes The Block auction day so nerve-racking. A reserve may give buyers a clearer idea of what it will take to secure a property, but the final result still depends on how many people are prepared to bid, and how far they are willing to go.
Despite the pressure, Ash says the experience of representing a Block home has been one he has relished, even if the ultimate test is still to come.
“This is our first time representing a property on The Block, and we’ve enjoyed every second of it,” he gushes. “Ironically, Lilly (House 5’s other agent) and I worked with (judge) Shaynna Blaze more than a decade ago when a property we were selling in Frankston featured on Selling Houses Australia. That was our first exposure to the world of property television, so this has felt like a full circle moment. I’d do it again in a heartbeat.”
The Block auction airs on Sunday 1 November at 7pm on 9Now and Channel Nine.
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