Block winner rewarded for hard labour

The Block Winners Phil and Amity at their house in Bondi. Source: News Limited

NOTHING compares to the birth of a child, but for The Block victor Amity Rankine the dizzying moment when her Bondi heritage terrace emerged the winner of the series' climactic auction reminded her of the blur of emotion and confusion which followed the delivery of her daughter, Poppy.

Like that life-changing moment when she had to ask husband Phil to "double-check" the couple had in fact welcomed a baby girl, Rankine says she was not sure, amid the cries and jubilation, the pair had pulled ahead in the bidding to clinch the first All-Stars series of the Channel 9 ratings hit.

In the dramatic finale, the blue house favourites pocketed $295,000 profit and $100,000 prize money after their renovated Federation cottage sold for $1.67 million under the hammer, beating out rivals Josh and Jenna Densten by just a $20,000 margin.

The action-packed auctions took contestants and viewers alike on a roller-coaster with the Denstens first to market and scoring a massive profit of $275,000 on their property which sold for $1.375m.

But celebrations were soured when the hard luck pairing of Mark Bowyer and Duncan Miller took a hit on their terrace, selling for just $25,000 above their $1.345m reserve.

It was a bitter blow for the tradie mates who endured a torrid time on the series, with Bowyer's wife diagnosed with skin cancer and then rushed to hospital himself after suffering a suspected heart attack.

Spirits were lifted in the third auction when Melbourne couple Dani Wales and Dan Reilly banked a tidy $220,000 profit for their terrace (selling for $1.575m), but it came down to the last bid on the last auction to seal it for the Adelaide couple, who juggled the supervision of their two children during the renovation.

Professional singer, Amity, who will leverage her TV fame with an east coast tour of her stage show starting in May, said the heady auction experience made for a better time than when the couple finished last during their first appearance on The Block in 2003.

"I could have thrown up or passed out...I've never been so nervous about anything in my whole life. The pressure of everyone saying we were going to win felt like we were jinxed."

But after host Scott Cam confirmed the result, she said: "literally all the cliches in the book, my head was spinning, I couldn't hear anything, I was crying, it was just amazing."

Phil Rankine, who earned fan favouritism for his love of coffee martinis, revealed they toasted their victory with more of the cocktails and champagne and a party that ended in the wee hours yesterday.

Their win was vindication after the final weeks of competition became a tense affair after Dan and Dani conspired with Josh and Jenna to rob the Rankines of a room victory.

But Amity said last night: "everyone congratulated everybody. Aside from Mark and Duncan, which was really upsetting, everybody did so well how could you not be happy walking away with between $200,000 and $275,000. That certainly cooled any tensions because everyone got a reward for their efforts."

The show's producers were also popping the cork on another successful spin-off, with the All-Star season earning its contenders a total of $815,000 in profits.

But local property experts warned while the auction results were "strong" for the Bondi area, there was no "real world" profit in the outcome.

Bondi real estate expert Ric Serrao, principal at Raine & Horne Double Bay, said the results achieved at The Block auction were strong for the current Bondi market. But when taking into consideration what had been spent on the homes, there is not that much profit left over.

"If you'e looking to flick a Bondi house like that then you'd need to spend somewhere in the area of $250,000 to $300,000 to renovate, then consider stamp duty and holding costs," Mr Serrao said.

"I think The Block is a great show, I think it's fun. But if people really think they can do the same thing themselves, and they're not professionals, then they're getting the wrong message," he said.

THE  BLOCK ALL STAR PROFITS

$815,000

Auction reserves and sale prizes

Phil and Amity
Reserve $1.375m
Sales $1.67m
Profit: $295,000

Josh and Jenna
Reserve $1.375m
Auction result $1.65m
Profit $275,000

Dani and Dan
Reserve $1.355m
Auction result $1.575m
Profit $220,000

Mark and Duncan
Reserve $1.345m
Auction result $1.370m
Profit $25,000
 

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