The couple on The Block who, in a surprise twist, nabbed their own house for the reserve price after it failed to sell at auction may have got it for a steal.
The Block Redemption contestants Stacy Middleton revealed last week that she and husband Adam had the “perfect redemption” by purchasing the three-bedroom townhouse they had spent weeks renovating.
The couple paid the reserve price of $1.148 million after putting in an offer to buy it when it was one of two properties that failed to sell at the auction.
A spokesperson for Discovery, which produces The Block, said the network did not reveal identities of or facilitate interviews with the new owners of The Block properties.
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But the couple revealed the shock twist themselves in a black and white video on Instagram with the post captioned: “the perfect ending, to a perfect year #redemption”.
In the video, Stacy runs into Adam’s arms and kisses him in the kitchen of their Block home as their two dogs watch on.
Stacy then confirmed in the comments session of her post that they had bought it after the auction.
It was the second time the couple had failed to sell their competition house at auction and the only reason they walked away with any money was after sponsor TSB decided to give the losing couples $10,000 each.
Stacy and Adam’s home was stylish and impressively dressed. Photo / Supplied
Mike Pero Orewa owner Lane Sanger said he thought the townhouse was good buying at $1.145m.
In comparison a four-bedroom house on Paparahi Place in the same new Ara Hills subdivision sold this month at a Barfoot & Thompson auction for $1.22m.
Sanger estimated the price of townhouses in the area had dropped by about 20% and said there were townhouses on Orewa’s main road which had been on the market earlier in the year for about $1.4m and were now taking enquiries around several hundred thousand dollars less.
“I think it just shows you the lack of buyers verses the amount of available stock.”
It might have been even possible for Adam and Stacey to pay under the auction reserve, Sanger said, because often the owners didn’t want to hang onto the property so were prepared to meet the market.
“Often we do see if people only want to pay X amount well it is up to the owner if they want to hold onto it or let it go.”
Valocity head of valuations James Wilson agreed that at that price point and with the type of fit-outs they had, the buyers “absolutely got a good buy” and The Block houses actually sold for less than the $1.2m to $1.3m price tag many, including his firm, had predicted they would.
“I think the buyers have got really good bang for their buck when it comes to a) what they are getting and b) I think they’ve timed the market quite well because it was definitely a very soft mindset at the time.”
He said the fit-out and furnishings that came with The Block homes was a “heck of a lot” and in theory should cost more, but largely depended on who was buying them.
A new-build four-bedroom home on Paparahi Place in Orewa recently sold at a Barfoot & Thompson auction for $1.22m. Photo / Supplied
“To get a big premium on fit-out like that you want to be hitting your owner-occupier family market who not only will desire that, they will really like some of the multimedia rooms and the higher spec, but they will also have the ability to pay the big premium for it.”
Whereas, he said, that price point was more likely to attract investors or first-home buyers who might not be able or willing to pay as big a premium for that fit-out.
The Middleton’s townhouse at $1.148m was the second cheapest house to sell on The Block this year.
Ironically this year’s winners Chloe Hes and Ben Speedy’s house fetched the lowest sale price of all four houses when it sold under the hammer for $1.145m. But the friends were crowned the winners because it made the most profit - $4000 over its reserve.
Runner-ups Maree and James Steele also sold their home at auction for $1,152,100, but for just $100 above the reserve.
While Quinn and Ben Alexandre’s house sold after the auction for $39,000 below their reserve of $1.199m - but still with the second highest sales price.
It is also not the first time someone involved in The Block has purchased one of the projects.
Former The Block producer and television supremo Julie Christie and her daughter purchased Stacy and Adam’s first renovation in 2019 after the converted Kingsland fire station apartment failed to sell at auction. The mother-daughter duo sold it last year making a $620,000 profit.
