Congratulations are in order for newlyweds Tess and Luke, who were crowned winners of The Block in a nail-biting grand finale on Sunday night.
The duo emerged victorious against the four other teams, with their beautiful townhouse in The Oslo in St. Kilda selling for an incredible $3.620 million.
The reserve was set equally across the board this year at $2.990 million, meaning Tess and Luke made a remarkable $630,000 in profit.
They’ll be taking home the money they made over the reserve, along with the additional $100,000 prize-money for having the highest-selling home. Yep, that’s a total of $730,000.
That places the couple sixth overall on the list of former The Block winners, behind big teams such as Darren and Deanne in 2015 ($935,000) and Will and Karlie in 2016 ($815,000).
“It hasn’t sunk in yet. This is life-changing stuff,” Luke, 29, tells TV WEEK after their win.
“You obviously come in to the competition knowing this could happen, but you never think it’s really going to pan out this way.”
The couple, who’ve been together eight years and tied the knot earlier this year, will finally be taking a honeymoon with their prize-money. As for any other plans? That’s unclear, for now.
“We’ve never really thought of having money like that,” Tess, 27, says. “We can’t even comprehend it. Obviously it will be used wisely and it will all be put towards building our future.”
Luke and Tess are proud as punch.
(Image: Nine Network)Over 14 grueling weeks, Tess and Luke transformed their run-down space in to a glorious, sophisticated home.
Despite a few ups and downs, including unfinished rooms and a major budget blowout, the duo managed to pull through and deliver a series-winning home.
“There were a fair few differences in our home, I feel, that really engaged the buyer,” Luke, who is a carpenter by trade, tells TV WEEK.
He thinks the “personal touch” and “emotional connection” their buyer felt set their house apart from the others, along with some of their design choices.
“I think the glass floor, the two media rooms, the biggest kitchen on The Block, separate dining and the self-contained studio out the back were the real big things that set our house apart.”
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Tess and Luke’s stunning formal lounge.
(Image: Nine Network)Tess and Luke’s home was second to hit the market, following Mitch and Mark. The boys set the day off to a good start, making $384,000 over reserve.
“When the first bid came in on Mitch and Mark’s place at $3 million, we thought that was a pretty good sign,” Luke says of the auction.
“We would have been happy with [making above reserve]. And then it just kept going up and up and up. It was… we just had tears streaming down our faces. It was a fairy-tale come true.”
Congratulations to Tess and Luke on their incredible win!
For the full list of auction day results, head here.
