Brad and Lara win The Block 2012!

Tonight's auctions on The Block were probably the most exciting finale I've seen of any series! Last year's auction fell flat and I wasn't expecting much better this time around.  The houses looked amazing though, and if I was a betting person, I would have put my money on Brad and Lara from day one...and I would have been right!  If you read back through my round ups of The Block, you would see that their rooms were my favourite each and every week.  Here's how the auctions went down...

Brad and Lara drew the short straw, and their house was auctioned off first. The reserve price was $1,1114,000, which was more than exceeded!  The final selling price was $1,620,000, giving Brad and Lara a profit of $506,000!! Not bad for 12 weeks incredibly hard work.  The only thing that could have made their auction better, was if Brad dropped to one knee and proposed to Lara (a la Josh and Jenna last year).

Second on the auction block was Dani and Dan.  The opening bid was an incredible $1.2m, reducing Dani to tears instantly! Well above their reserve of $992.000. When the hammer went down, Dani and Dan's house sold for $1,440,000...a profit of $448,000.

Third up...Sophie and Dale. With a reserve of $975,000 and the smallest house on the block, beating Brad and Lara's total would have been incredible! The bidding was really strong and poor Sophie was literally speechless! The house sold for an impressive $1,330,000, giving Sophie and Dale a profit of $335,000.

Last, but certainly not least, it was the brothers turn.  With a respectable reserve of $966,000, winning seemed along way off...until the opening bid was over $1.3m...and cents. lol. The owner of Energy Watch was determined to buy their house, and was bidding with the most ridiculous amounts...the poor auctioneer couldn't get his head around it!  The bid that closed the deal was $1,400,001.01.  Yes, 1 cent.  Strange! It wasn't enough for Mike and Andrew to steal the win, making the $434,001.01 in profit.

...and when that hammer fell for the last time, Brad and Lara pocketed a bonus $100,000.

Congratulations Brad and Lara. You more than deserved the win!

I am so absolutely thrilled for each of the couples. Their journey over the last few months has been incredibly inspiring, not to mention profitable! I can imagine the applications for next years series will be crashing ninemsn, in the hopes that they'll win just as much. Who knows...I might just apply too!

Did you miss any of the reveals? Catch up on my weekly round up of The Block right here...

Week 1 - Free choice
Week 2 - Master bedroom and ensuite
Week 3 - Second bedroom
Week 4 - Master bathroom and laundry
Week 5 - Guest bedroom and hallway
Week 6 - Rooftop terrace and utility room
Week 7 - Living room
Week 8 - Kitchen and Room makeover
Week 9 - Front facade and rear courtyard