The journey for The Block contestants has come to an end for 2017, in one of the most shocking auctions in Block history.
We followed the highs and lows of the season finale, resulting in a win for Andy and Nate after their home went to a second auction.
Catch up with the drama below, as it happened.
9:06pm: There's a bittersweet mood in the air as The Block NZ 2017 draws to a close, but Andy and Nate are going home with $131,000 and their People's Choice award of a brand new Honda Civic RS Sport Turbo Hatch.
They say they feel for Stace and Yanita - but they're happy with those prizes.
"We're ecstatic with our win," says Andy.
"We're really stoked that all our hard work has paid off," adds Nate.
The other teams made the following profits:
- Ling and Zing's house one: $1,000
- Julia and Ali's house two: $13,000
- Stace and Yanita's house four: $20,000
9:04pm: "It's been a dramatic series, but we didn't expect this level of drama on auction night," says Shelley.
And Stace and Yanita now can't hold the tears back any more. They're flowing.
9:02pm: Andy and Nate's house is sold in its second auction of the night for $1,250,000.
They went from being passed in, to winning with a profit of $31,000.
Stace and Yanita are holding back tears... just.
8:59pm: SOLD for $1,271,000. With a profit of $20,000, Stace and Yanita have the lead - but now, Andy and Nate get to have another go.
8:53pm: "Sir you're still on the phone, you need to do something... sitting there with your champagne," says Mr Maguire, trying to goad the bid above $1,220,000.
After some serious coaxing from, it finally gets up to $1,260,000 - which puts it on the market. Stace and Yanita are selling their home tonight!
They saved the most competitive auction for last as bidders go $1000 a time, taking it up to $1,265,000.
8:50pm: Oh dear - another big stall at $1,100,000, with Mr Maguire saying he'd take a raise of $10,000 just before the bidders kick back into action and take it up to $1,175,000 - which Mr Maguire says is still just too low.
8:47pm: Auctioneer Wayne Maguire introduces Stace and Yanita's home, and the hiss and roar that kicks off the auction ends up with a bid of $850,000, which is quickly taken up to $1,100,000 in around a minute.
8:43pm: Shelley calls the mood "sombre" as we head into the final auction of the night. Stace tells Mark she is sure they can beat $13,000 in profit and win.
8:35pm: The twins' house is SOLD for $1,242,000. They've made a profit of $13,000 - the best of the night, but still lowly compared to previous years.
It's the fourth lowest profit in The Block NZ history (before tonight's results).
8:33pm: The twins are wide-eyed and hugging each other as a bid finally gets made for $1,230,000.
Mr Andrew has the most vigorous nod out of the auctioneers so far and is bargaining with bidders rather than pleading with them, even ending one of his arguments by declaring it "logical".
There's tight competition here as the bids go to just $1000 extra...
8:30pm: "Make no mistake, house number three is the best on The Block," says Mr Andrew, before bids quickly come in - starting at $800,000 and rising quickly to over a million.
After the quick start, there's a stall at $1,150,000... a developing pattern with all of the auctions.
At $1,225,000, the Twins are now ahead of what both the boys teams made - but far away from the enormous $1,610,000 of last year's team Sam and Emmett.
8:25pm: The twins look more excited than nervous as they chat with Mark before their home goes under the hammer.
"We have that amazing kitchen, the best master bedroom, the best views... we think people are just hanging out for this one," they say with confidence.
"It's been amazing, we've learned so much. Whatever will be, will be," they add, before Mark passes over to auctioneer Jason Andrew.
8:17pm: Andy and Nate's home has been passed in - it's unsold at $1,200,000.
"It's the way the cookie crumbles," says a crestfallen Andy. The house will go into negotiations to be sold later tonight.
8:15pm: After a fiery start, the bids slow down at $1,150,000. "This is the most high quality property on The Block," says Mr Good.
At $1,200,000, bids of an extra $10,000 on Andy and Nate's home will be accepted.
"We're extremely close," says Mr Good, looking less nervous than Mr Fong but with the same urgency.
8:10pm: Duncan Good is the auctioneer for Andy and Nate, who describes their home as "the house for you educated folk" and "a cut above their peers".
The bids are off in a flurry, rising from $650,000 to over a million in less than a minute.
8:00pm: Ling and Zing have made a profit of $1000, the second lowest in The Block NZ history.
The pair are more subdued than they've been all season, but Mark tells them they are still in the running for $100,000 - if the other teams make even less than they do.
"You just got to keep your chin up," says Zing.
7:57pm: Sheesh! That was awkward there for a minute - but now we've hit $1,300,000.
Sold!
The tension got heavy in the room and then erupted into applause as the hammer fell - but the price is not good news for the boys from Christchurch.
7:53pm: Another stall at $1,050,000 and Mr Fong tells us he cannot sell it for such a low price. "Think of the family," says Mr Fong, trying to get the price over $1,150,000. "I need more... I need more," he pleads as it stalls at again at $1,180,000.
7:48pm: Rodney Fong is the auctioneer for Ling and Zing's home. "These two unlikely lads have pulled off something quite remarkable." he says. "If you dream of views of the city, unobstructed and unsurpassed, ladies and gentlemen, this is it."
The bids start at $700,000. With a bit of coaxing, that quickly rises to $800,000 then $900,000 and then $950,000. There's a bit of a stall at $1,000,000 before it's raised to $1,010,000.
7:45pm: Ling and Zing are about to have their house go under the hammer. They look nervous for perhaps the first time and Mark tells them it's the first time he's seen them pacing around. "We just came up with our own bloody things and it just started working," says Ling, when asked if they were just winging it the whole way.
"We have got the biggest over-spend, so hopefully that doesn't come back to haunt us," says Zing, just before the auction kicks off.
7:38pm: Ling and Zing have the privilege of choosing the order: Themselves first, then Andy and Nate second. The twins are third, and Stace and Yanita last.
The strategy? They've chosen house one to go first, house two second, house three third and house four fourth. They say it's the "best strategy we could come up with".
Everyone seems happy with where in the order they're placed.
7:32pm: The winners of The Block NZ People's Choice Award for 2017... Andy and Nate! They say thanks to all their fans.
"It's been pretty unreal... a pretty unreal experience. Thanks to everyone who watched and voted for us."
"Nice guys do finish first," adds Mark.
Andy and Nate are driving home in a brand new Honda Civic RS Sport Turbo Hatch.
7:30pm: The Twins reckon their home's quality fittings, high-end products and extra element of privacy put it ahead of the rest.
Stace and Yanita are very proud of their fancy master bedroom, saying they "know" the buyers are going to love it tonight.
7:27pm: A highlights reel of deleted scenes is full of all sorts of craziness - the craziest bit probably being either what I think was an attempt at rapping, or Ling and Zing in animal onesies growling for a while.
There was also a joke about a man cave being "unisex", due to it having a laundry. Sigh.
7:21pm: Mark, Ling and Zing all say they don't know how the pair of Christchurch dude-bros managed to win all the challenges they did, ultimately allowing them to choose the auction order.
Meanwhile, Andy and Nate disagree on what part of their house they're proudest of - but it's probably the spa.
7:10pm: Just six minutes into the episode, Ling drops an S-bomb, prompting Mark to remind him he's on live television. With the wacky hair on display with he and teammate Zing, I wonder if they realise television is a visual medium too.
7:07pm: Mark, joined by Shelley Ferguson, says these are the nicest houses they've ever sold on The Block NZ. Shelley says she has great confidence in the houses after Mark questions how they can possibly top last year's record results.
- The Block NZ 2017 week 6 recap: Time to learn from past mistakes
- The Block NZ week 7 recap: Finally a guest room that's actually a guest room
7:04pm: And we're off! Mark Richardson introduces the show live from the Grand Millennium Hotel in Auckland, explaining what the contestants can earn almost as excitedly as Patrick Gower announced the results of the last Newshub-Reid Research poll.
A recap of the series so far shows just how far every team has come with their homes, as well as all the drama they've experienced along the way.
...
Newshub.
