It’s safe to say the auction results of The Block 2023 were a mixed bag. From profits of 65k to over a million and even a pass in, the five teams of the season walked away with vastly different results.
For Steph and Gian, the day has changed their life, earning them not only the title of The Block 2023 winners but also the contestants who have taken home the largest profit in the franchise’s history.
“We are lost for words,” a shocked Gian told WHO shortly after learning he and his wife Steph would be taking home 1.65 million in profit.
“We are so, so grateful,” Leah herself added.
The Sydney-based couple have been fan favourites since the start of the season, creating a beautiful “Japandi” style house, strongly influenced by Steph’s architectural background.
But it wasn’t just the fans who fell in love with the five-bedroom house, the judges awarded Steph and Gian the most room-wins throughout the season and come auction day, their home was the centre of a tense bidding war which ended with Adrian Portelli bidding $5 million.
It’s a figure not expected by the pair, who had been manifesting a smaller $4 million.
“We knew that to put ourselves in a strong position to win The Block we needed to sell for four [million] because our reserve was so much higher,” Gian explained.
“We were so anxious and upset when we first received the reserve because we were 400,000 over everyone,” Steph added. “So that was so overwhelming for us, we thought there’s no way we can ever do that.”
But the number four quickly became the couple’s power number. “We thought November four, house number 4 and four million,” Steph continued, “four, four, four.”
“We were manifesting fours, and then he comes out with a five!”
But the staggering figure may also have been a sign. “I did dream the night before the auction that I was winning 500,” Steph added, “I was so perplexed.”
Manifestation aside, the couple are now left with the largest sum of profits in Block history, taking home a profit of $1.65 million and an additional $100,000 in prize money.
“We’re always thinking about what’s next, and that was really dependent on how we went with the auction,” Gian told us. “And that’s the scariest part about The Block. I think last year showed everyone that you need to be willing to sacrifice everything and walk away with nothing.”
“We’re just so grateful that Adrian Portelli saw the value in our house that we saw…that’s what everyone would hope out of an auction.”
“For us, we didn’t really think about this [The Block] as winning money,” Gian continues. ”We wanted to do our family proud. We went through crazy heartbreak on a personal level that I don’t think can be replicated through money. It’s not about that for us.”
Despite being fan-favourites throughout the show, the season contained its fair share of controversy. But Steph and Gian’s reluctance to partake in any drama, they believe could have helped them win.
“We’d like to believe that kindness always prevails,” Steph adds when asked if the public’s perception of contestants impacts auction day results. “Especially for someone like Adrian, who, you know, has the raffle business where he potentially could raffle this house. I guess he would want the general public to actually want to be buying his raffles.”
Just weeks after their historic win, Adrian confirmed that he would be raffling the house. Sharing a post on his promotions and giveaway platform LMCT+, Adrian wrote; “FIRE UP AUSTRALIA – IT’S OFFICIAL!
“The first Block house we will be giving away to one of our customers will be Steph & Gian’s show winning, house number 4 🍾.
“The house will come fully furnished. (Wine, dog food and clothing not included*).”
This marks the second Block house Adrian has given away after he bought and raffled Ankur and Sharon’s home the previous season.
Watch Below: Steph And Gian’s Real Estate Video The Block 2023
The Block 2023 Auction Results
House Four – Steph & Gian
- $3.350 million reserve
- Sold for $5 million
- Won a profit of $1.65 million
House Five – Eliza & Liberty
- $3.250 million reserve
- Sold for $4.3 million
- Won a profit of $1.05 million
House One – Kyle & Leslie
- $2.97 million reserve
- Sold for $3.1 million
- Won a profit of $130,000
House Three – Kristy & Brett
- $2.97 million reserve
- Sold for $3.035 million
- Won a profit of $65,000
House One – Leah & Ash
- $2.97 million reserve
- Passed in.
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