Real estate agents insist a fall in profits in this year's finale of The Block NZ is proof the Auckland housing bubble has burst.
Winners Andy and Nate claimed the highest profit of $31,000 in last night's dramatic episode, as well as $100,000 in prize money.
That's just a fraction of the profits made in previous years last year's winners made $380,000, not including the $100,000 bonus.
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"We're feeling pretty sorry for the other teams," says Andy.
"Everyone is trying to celebrate and then you've got teams who are walking away with $1000, teams that thought they won two minutes before and then [have it] stolen away. It was a real double-edged sword.
"It feels great that we've gotten the money, but ripped off at the same time, because you can't really celebrate," adds Nate.
Jeremy O'Hanlon from Homes.co.nz says what viewers saw last night is also happening in auction rooms across the city.
"It shows that there's a bit of a slowdown in the market. It's harder to get buyers into the room at the moment."
Real estate agents told Newshub they were impressed The Block NZ homes managed to sell at all, as buyers are taking a wait-and-see approach just days out from the election.
All four Northcote houses fetched between $1.2 million and $1.3 million each, slightly higher than estimates for other homes in the Auckland suburb.
The Real Estate Institute says the bubble hasn't burst, but the market has flattened.
"I think it's a sign things have stabilised in Auckland, particularly with the price and the volume," says REINZ chief executive Bindi Norwell.
Andy and Nate, the dads from Waikato, reckon it means Aucklanders should move south.
"I guess what it indicates is that everyone's got to move to Hamilton - the city of the future," says Andy.
"It's going well in the 'Tron', eh ... Cambridge is going off," adds Nate.
Newshub.
