McGrath secures surprise Block Gatwick top price
Sara and Hayden were the surprise top sellers of The Block series, after the Gatwick penthouse auctions performed poorly.
The luxury northwest facing apartment with 240 square metres of internal space was rare for the area.
Sara and Hayden secured a stellar $3.02 million sale for the 3/34 Fitzroy Street offering which had an official $2.5 million reserve, with the couple taking home a "life changing" $645,000 including the Season 14 prize money.
The McGrath price guidance had been $2.5 million to $2.7 million.
Their reserve had been adjusted to $2.475 million after they secured a discount during the competition.
With reportedly eight registered buyers, bidding opened at $2.5 million with the buyers' agent Nicole Jacobs who emerged as the top bidder.
Sara and Hayden took home the winnings above reserve of $545,000, plus the $100,000 prize.
Hayden and Sara shocked audiences when they won the first challenge of the year and opted to renovate Apartment 3 in the old Gatwick, bypassing the chance to build a brand-new, luxurious penthouse.
It was auctioned by McGrath chief auctioneer Scott Kennedy-Green, who returned to The Block after an eight-year break.
“Despite lower clearance rates and a slowdown in the Melbourne market, this is a testament that well-presented properties will always have the edge,” he concluded.
Over the years, McGrath Estate Agents has marketed five properties for The Block, all auctioned by Scott Kennedy-Green.
They have received the top price on three occasions and won the show twice; the first time with John and Neisha in 2010, who pocketed $305,000 as winners for a 2-bedroom ground floor apartment in Vaucluse, Sydney.
McGrath founder John McGrath noted The Block had captivated the attention of all Australians for almost two decades.
"We’re delighted to have represented Hayden and Sara to win this year’s event.
“They did a great job renovating their apartment and fully deserve the win.
"And whilst it is a blockbuster TV show these are also real sales to real buyers, so we apply the same sales strategies to The Block as we apply to all sales.
"We are so proud of our St Kilda team for their extraordinary efforts.”
The Block winners Sara and Hayden were the show’s lowest-scoring winners, recording the poorest judges’ scores of the season and the highest number of room reveal losses since the weekly wins begun being awarded 11 seasons ago.
Across nine weeks of room judging, the couple won just one room – the master bedroom – and came last in the judging of the apartment’s main bathroom, first guest bedroom, master en suite, living and dining space and hallway, laundry and powder room.