The secret to Block success two years running
BY ISABELLE WALKER
The winning team behind The Block success .
History was made on The Block as Steph and Gian Ottavio of House Four sold their home at $ 1.65 million over reserve at The Block auctions in November .
Ray White Victoria and Tasmania CEO Domenic Belfiore said he was proud of the support Ray White was able to provide to the team during the sales campaign .
The $ 1.65 million profit is the highest ever recorded on the Channel 9 show , winning the couple $ 100,000 in prize money , as they take home $ 1.75 million tax free .
Ray White Sunbury directors , Aaron Hill and Marin Durkovic , and agents Chelsea Kleeven and Sharn Bayes , sold the house , in conjunction with auctioneer Tom Panos .
“ We didn ’ t think we ’ d be able to achieve what we were able to last year - with Omar and Oz breaking the initial record and winning $ 1.586 million over reserve - but once again our expectations have been exceeded ,” Director Aaron said .
“ Steph and Gian ’ s ‘ Japandi ’ house was the clear stand out this year , and the couple ’ s hard work and design prowess were fully on display .”
“ From corporate and marketing support , to social media , video and content coordination , Ray White is so pleased to contribute to the winning team ’ s success ,” Domenic said .
“ Steph and Gian were wonderful to work with , and the Ray White Sunbury team have proven yet again that they ’ re the right people for the high profile competition .”
Aaron , Marin and Chelsea at Ray White Sunbury have made a name for themselves after being at the helm of record breaking sales two years in a row .
Despite semi-rural Sunbury being a far cry from Hampton in Melbourne ’ s south , the team was still able to secure the support of several registered bidders at the auction on Saturday .
“ We ’ ve loved working with the professional team at Ray White through this crazy rollercoaster of a journey ,” the couple added last week .
“ From late night calls to endless photoshoots of the house to get the right angles , rolling into the auctions with full confidence that the team will get us over the line .”
“ We have no words , we are so , so grateful ,” Steph , an architect , said after the auction , with Gian adding : “ The Block has changed our lives ”.
The winning bid on House Four of $ 5 million was made by Adrian “ Lambo Guy ” Portelli , who was the winning bidder in three of the five auctions on Saturday .
“ We ’ re so proud of everything we ’ ve been able to achieve with this sales campaign ,” Aaron said .
“ Steph and Gian have been so brilliant to work with , and selling their house was a pleasure . Even in the face of the highest reserve among the houses , they ’ ve still smashed all expectations .”
Sisters from Victoria , Liberty and Eliza , took out second place with a $ 1.05m profit . Kristy and Brett and Kyle and Leslie sold their houses at a $ 60,000 and $ 130,000 profit respectively , while Leah and Ash passed their house in with hopes of negotiation down the track .
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