Amy & Stu turn yellow into gold
Block NZ’s lowering of auction reserves pays off with winning duo banking $169,500
Amy and Stu have won this season of The Block NZ, scoring $169,500 thanks in large part to significantly lower reserve prices than last year. The reality DIY series has lowered reserves, potentially in response to a disastrous live auction which saw last season’s winners take home just $30,000 and one team netted a profit of only $1000.
Last season, the lowest reserve price was $1.2 million, whereas this season the highest reserve was on Stu and Amy’s house, set at $940,000, allowing them to bank a $69,500 profit plus the $100,000 prize money.
Whatever the reasoning, the lowering of reserves proved to be a good move as Amy and Stu were the only team to surpass $1 million while others struggled at auction.
Ben and Tom came in second, with $57,000 profit after selling for $987,000, then Claire and Agni netted $30,000 after selling for $950,000.
However Chlo and Em netted just $11,500 after selling at $921,500 — a figure the auctioneer had to wring blood from a stone to reach, with just three bidders coming to the table.
Amy and Stu’s overall win came after a run of victories.
Earlier in the finale they also won the People’s Choice award, taking home a new Suzuki S-Cross Prestige.
They also went on to win all four of the Room of the Week prizes, which knocked a total of $4000 off their reserve ahead of the auction.
The pair struggled for words after their win, with Stu simply exclaiming: “Yeah boy! Gizzy hard, all day.”
Amy added: “I am so proud of us both. Thank you New Zealand — right back at you. We are so incredibly grateful for all your support.”
The pair have been favourites to win from day one, consistently scoring high with each room reveal and, on at least one occasion, leaving judges Jason Bonham and Kristina Rapley unable to fault their work.
While the win is clearly deserved, fans took to social media to express
their disappointment with the bidding overall with one saying: “These bids are a bit grim . . . surely gotta get a million for a fully kitted-out house in Auckland!?”
Yet despite somewhat lacklustre bidding in the last two seasons, host Mark Richardson confirmed at the end of the finale that The Block NZ will return for an eighth season.
Applications are already open for next year via Three’s website.