A suburb sale price record has redeemed the auction experience for former The Block contestants Leah and Ash Milton.

Over the weekend, their lovingly renovated, five-bedroom 1930s Queenslander, complete with pool, spa and water views, at 66 Wassell Street, Wynnum, sold under the hammer for $3.001 million.

“They’re ecstatic,” their real estate agent, Alec McEwan of McGrath Estate Agents Wynnum/Manly, says of the result, which ranks as the highest price achieved in the suburb this year.

Given the couple’s high profile since they appeared on The Block in the Melbourne suburb of Hampton East in 2023, and the publicity that attracted during the sales campaign, McEwan says they enjoyed a “massive turnout”, and estimates between 150 and 200 people attended the auction on Saturday.

While many were there “taking photos for design inspiration, because they’ve done such a good job with it”, and not all registered bidders showed up, McEwan says the buyers – a couple with three dogs – had been motivated from the very beginning.

Between 150 and 200 people attended the auction of 66 Wassell Street, Wynnum.

“They had attended all five open for inspections and had even gone so far as messaging the Miltons through their Instagram page, telling them, ‘We love your home so much we’re going to give it everything we’ve got on the weekend,” McEwan says. “And they did. They ended up buying it, which was really special.”

During their time on The Block, Leah and Ash were known for what they called their “psyche-deco” design aesthetic, which borrowed from vintage styles with a bold, contemporary approach. For this equally expansive home, they’ve honoured the century-old period details on the upper floor, while the lower level is more modern.

The whole lot is on a north-facing corner block of almost 1000 square metres with a 55-metre-wide street frontage.

Leah and Ash honoured the century-old period details on the upper floor.

“It’s such a unique home. There’s nothing to compare it to or guide it against. It was very much worth what someone was prepared to pay,” McEwan says of pricing such a property. “A lot of the offers prior were mid to high twos.”

“We felt auction was the best method to truly uncover the value. There’s no recommended retail price on real estate, and auction truly finds the value.”

However, the couple had been “a little bit apprehensive about that method of sale” after their disastrous auction experience on The Block.

In 2023, Leah and Ash renovated House 2 on Charming Street in the Melbourne bayside suburb of Hampton East.

While that season’s winners, Steph and Gian Ottavio, set a new Block record by walking away with $1.75 million in prize money ($1.65 million profit over reserve plus $100,000 cash for winning the series), the Brisbane-based couple were left sitting on the couch, not a single cent richer on auction night after their property passed in.

It was a long wait for a sale, too, with the property finally changing hands four months later in February last year for $3.125 million. Although this result ultimately saw them finish in third place, their profit was only $155,000.

“Leah and Ash put in just as much work and didn’t get the same reward,” says McEwan, which made the sale of the 66 Wassell Street property “their Block in real life”.

The couple had been apprehensive about the auction after their disastrous auction experience on The Block.

With auctioneer Mark Te Whare dropping the hammer at $3.001 million, the price sets two records.

“Nothing on the western side of Tingles Road has sold at this level, so it’s a record in that sense, and it’s also the highest sale price this year,” explains McEwan.

This result, he laments, “actually makes my job a little bit harder”.

“We get a few of these results that are well above the suburb median, which is around $1.4 million to $1.5 million, and in the weeks after, people will say to us, ‘Well, you got three for that one, we want three for ours.’

“It’s not that easy! But it’s good,” he adds. “It does bring up the suburb median. It gives confidence to the people that are moving out here that this is a good place to be, and we’re having massive capital growth year on year, so it’s positive.”

As for Leah and Ash, they’re staying in the neighbourhood and have already found their next project.

“They found a narrow-block gem just back from the water,” McEwan says. “They’ve got a flair for these character homes, so it’s an old home that they’ll work with and turn it into something special like Wassell Street”.