The Block winners: $1.35m Grammar zone house gives Brooke and Mitch a $290,000 payday

Reporter·NZ Herald·

6 Dec, 2015 07:10 PM4 mins to read

Brooke Thompson and Mitch Davies, centre, are all nerves as they await the results. Photo / Brett Phibbs

The reality TV couple Kiwis love to hate last night won the fourth season of The Block in a tense finale.

Brooke Thompson and her plumber partner Mitch Davies sold their Sandringham villa for $1.35 million, $190,000 over its reserve.

Image 1 of 15: Jamie and Hayden react as their house is auctioned. Photo / Mediaworks

With their prize money of $100,000, the couple took home $290,000 after 10 weeks of renovation - but last year's winners took home slightly more.

Davies, 26, said the couple wanted to move from Christchurch to Queenstown.

"We really want to move down to Queenstown. We really love it down there but it's not the cheapest. We want to buy a bit of dirt down there. We want a create a few rug rats ... we'll keep practising for now."

They said they might get involved with the build but would definitely get someone else to do the painting.

The couple regularly took a hammering for their on-screen demeanour, which has included some cutting reviews and tactical marking down of their rivals' work - and the odd tantrum from 25-year-old banker Thompson.

But the judges liked their style and they scored top marks for several rooms. It also helped that the three-bedroom home sat in the sought-after zone for Mt Albert Grammar on Renfrew Ave.

Hundreds of people packed into the auction room at the Rendezvous Hotel in central Auckland last night.

Taranaki couple Cat Glass and Jeremy Hill and Auckland's engaged couple Jamie Johns and Hayden Campbell came a joint second with profits of $160,000 each.

Cat and Jeremy - who also won the show's People's Choice award, which comes with a Honda car - sold their house for $1.32 million. Their corner home was also in the Mt Albert Grammar zone.

Hill said they weren't sure what they were going to do with the money.

The couple rent his parents' home which they partially renovated as a trial run for the show. He said they'd love to buy their own house and renovate it.

Jamie and Hayden's Haig Ave home sold for $1.335 million.

The couple now plan to start a creative digital agency.

Brooke & Mitch celebrate after selling their house on The Block NZ: Villa Wars.

Hamilton sisters Sarah and Minanne Kong's house, also on Haig Ave, sold for $1,272,000, giving them a profit of $123,000.

Sarah said she'd put some of the money into her wedding - her boyfriend Neth proposed on the show - and Minanne would use some of it to support her university studies, and she also hoped to travel.

Their house went to Greg Sinclair and his wife, Georgina, who plan to move in with their two children. They sold their house about six months ago and have been renting while looking at properties for sale. They told the Herald they were very happy with the purchase.

"It's quite strange, having watched the show, it feels like you've been a part of the building process," Mr Sinclair said.

"It's almost as if you've put your own sweat and blood into them."

Sarah Kong said they were really happy the house had gone to a family.

"The house called for children to run around in it. They'll turn it from a house into a home. [The Sinclairs] are exactly what we wanted."

The total profit for the contestants this year was $733,000.

All four of the winning bids appeared to be inside the auction room, rather than phone bidders.

Bayleys national residential manager Daniel Coulson said the sales were positive for Auckland. He wasn't sure it would mean a rush of people trying to buy around the Sandringham/Three Kings area, where all four properties are located, but said it showed there was an appetite for renovated villas in Auckland.

All four properties sold above their reserve prices, which he said was a fantastic result.

The winning bidders of Sarah and Minanne's home, Greg and Georgina Sinclair. Photo / Brett Phibbs

Villa wars: Prices and profit margins

Brooke & Mitch: $1,350,000 (profit $190,000)
Sarah & Minanne: $1,272,000 (profit $123,000)
Jamie & Hayden: $1,335,000 (profit: $160,000)
Cat and Jeremy: $1,320,000 (profit $160,000)