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The Block 2020 will deliver five renovated period homes in illustrious Bayside suburb, Brighton.

Blockheads will take a step back in time with the return of The Block this Sunday.

Five dilapidated houses dating back to the 1910s-1950s have been transported to blue-chip Brighton for the 16th season of the hit renovation show.

The period homes in a “dire state” will each be transformed into four-bedroom, three-bathroom pads with a pool – a first for the show.

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Victorian contestants Harry and Tash are the first father-daughter duo to compete.

A father-daughter duo will also be competing for the first time, representing Victoria.

IT manager Harry, 57, and social media and production manager Tash, 32, hope to use their home-ground advantage to take out the season, despite having little renovation experience.

“We moved to the bayside area 11 years ago and I moved out of home (to Richmond) a year or two ago, so we are definitely quite familiar with the area,” Tash said.

“The hometown advantage doing The Block … for us is about knowing how to get to places quite quickly. And local knowledge on the area: we have lived in the area, know the people and what they are looking for.”

Viewers can expect to see plenty of laughter, crying and disagreements from the team, and will watch Tash learn “Dad is always right”.

“It’s a different dynamic and hopefully a relatable one,” Tash said.

“As a challenge the two of us have faced together, it’s the biggest … and the most rewarding one.”

“We have gone in very close and finished The Block very close,” Harry added.
“The advantage of having a father-daughter combo is you can’t divorce your daughter – she is there for life.

“It was a great experience and I couldn’t have done it with anyone else.”

The pair are up against Sarah and George, a married couple from Sydney; South Australian farmers Daniel and Jade; chippy and teacher duo Luke and Jasmin from Perth; and Queensland’s Jimmy and Tam.

The Block contestants were sent home for a 40-day stint this season due to COVID-19.

Executive producer Julian Cress said the biggest challenge of the 2020 series was working through a global health pandemic, which shutdown production for 40 days.

Filming came to a halt to allow contestants to go home, with fears coronavirus-driven state border closures would leave them stranded in Melbourne.

Local tradespeople were able to continue working during the shutdown.

“It was an incredibly tough decision, but I firmly believe it was the right thing to do,” Mr Cress said.

“At the time it was kind of heartbreaking, but we were able to get our contestants back to their kids and loved ones, which was the most important thing.”

Harry said the weight of the pandemic didn’t hit until they were kicked off the site.

“We were in this bubble and so focused on delivering a room,” he said. “You haven’t got time to read the news … the outside world tends to stop while we are in production.”

The Victorian duo said apart from the obvious challenges that came with the pandemic, shifting to buying most products online and limited stock availability added to the pressure.

The series contenders out the front of the rundown period homes.

This season’s completed dream homes, on New Street, are expected to sell for more than $3.5m at auction later this year, despite the coronavirus-hit market.

Architect Julian Brenchley designed the renovations and said they will maintain the heritage homes at the front and feature new two-storey extensions at the rear.

“This time around we looked at preserving some of the period aspects of each house,” he said.

“It’s been really interesting to explore five different renovations of five houses, because in the past they were all roughly the same design.”

Another season has already been confirmed for next year, with Mr Cress hinting it could follow a similar formula of producing family homes

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The post The Block 2020: New season kicks off with plenty of firsts appeared first on realestate.com.au.

Conor Canning and Mary Viturino. Picture: NETWORK TEN

JARRAD BEVAN: COVID-19 has impacted everything this year; how do you think the Hobart market is travelling at this point?

CONOR CANNING: I don’t think we could ask for better market conditions given the circumstances. There is noticeably less stock hitting the market so we have a surplus of homebuyers, which I think has contributed to house prices stabilising and not declining.

Hobart couple Conor Canning and Mary Viturino.

JB: What concerns do you have going forward? And what do you hope might happen?

CC: I think Hobart will be insulated from the drop in the national property prices as I still don’t think we have seen enough development to satisfy local demand.

JB: Have you learned anything about our market that was a surprise during this unprecedented time? Or has something solidified in your mind?

CC: It has been a trying time for everyone across Australia, but property owners in Hobart can take comfort in how well the local property market has performed. I’m suggesting to anyone who has considered selling to be doing it now as stock levels are so low and that will see a greater number of buyers inspecting your property.

Jessie Mills (left) and Conor Canning get ready for a Grand Final themed open home at Rosetta.

JB: What has been your workplace highlight from the past year?

CC: PRD Hobart recently celebrated 12 months since our merger with Elders Brown and Banks and it coincided with a record sales and leasing month in June. We are over the moon with how the offices have worked together successfully and the amazing culture we have created. We believe our success comes from the PRD values of honesty, hard work and working as a team.

JB: Turning to the TV show, where did the idea come from to apply for Bachelor in Paradise?

CC: I got the idea to apply from my previous assistant Jessie Mills, who is a fan of the show. I had never watched the series previously and it was a crazy experience as from the time I applied it was only a couple of weeks before I was on the plane to Fiji.

Keep your gavel close by, just in case.

JB: Who was the most likely to spill the beans about you becoming a cast member? A friend? Maybe a family member?

CC: It was Hobart’s worst-kept secret despite my best efforts. I think family, friends and colleagues were excited and the word spread quickly.

JB: Was it easy or hard to sidestep the drama and just focus on what was happening with Mary Viturino?

CC: I found it very easy to avoid the drama on the show. I was there for a genuine reason and I’m so glad I ended up falling in love.

JB: How do you feel about the experience now that it is over?

CC: It was incredible. I had a rollercoaster of a time and ended up meeting Mary, so I couldn’t ask for more. Mary and her daughter Chanel are settled in Hobart now and loving life. It has been touching to see how invested so many people were with the relationship.

The post It’s Q&A time with Hobart’s most recognisable real estate agent appeared first on realestate.com.au.

345-365 Barwon Heads Rd, Charlemont.

Mixed use development options that could be open to buyers are driving interest in a Charlemont property.

The 1.49ha property at 345-365 Barwon Heads Road is part of the Marshall precinct in the Armstrong Creek Growth Area on the southeast outskirts of Geelong.

The precinct is subject to an ongoing structure planning process through Geelong’s council that won’t be completed until the end of next year.

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Darcy Jarman, Geelong West agent Tim Darcy said it was likely most of the land would be designated for residential or mixed use.

The latter is proving a winner with buyers, keen to unlock the 200m frontage to the arterial road at the intersection with Horseshoe Bend and Tannery roads.

345-365 Barwon Heads Rd, Charlemont.

“We think this particular parcel of land is going to have far more attributes for mixed use development rather than residential,” Mr Darcy said.

“It’s got a 200m frontage to Barwon Heads Road, it’s serviced by a further frontage to Horseshoe Bend Road and basically sits on that corner of Tannery Road.”

Price hopes were between $1.5m and $1.6m, he said.

345-365 Barwon Heads Rd, Charlemont.

An existing four-bedroom house, in-ground solar heated swimming pool and metal deck garage is on the property.

“It could also be suitable as a lifestyle block,” he said.

“But given it sits on the southern boundary of Geelong and that area has become a major hub of development towards Armstrong Creek, there is going to be some pretty serious development upside for something of a mixed use nature.

345-365 Barwon Heads Rd, Charlemont.

345-365 Barwon Heads Rd, Charlemont.

“We’ve had a positive response to it. There had been some overture about it being suitable to a petroleum site, which some say has serious merit.

“We understand there is some application (from the dispossessed mortgagor) before council at the moment, but they haven’t disclosed any information because it hasn’t been processed.

The mortgagees expressions of interest campaign closes on August 27.

The post Barwon Heads Rd: Development options open eyes to Charlemont property appeared first on realestate.com.au.