My Melbourne Real Estate

In late August, when auctioneers call for opening bids on The Block’s four Richmond homes, it won’t just be the contestants feeling the auction nerves. Executive producer Julian Cress says he and business partner David Barbour, the producers and crew all share in the anxious wait – from judging days to auction day. “We’re absolutely stressed out for the contestants because we’re desperate for them all to be rewarded for their hard work,” he says. As co-creators of the show, Cress and Barbour’s production company, Watercress Productions, bought the rundown terrace houses last November for a reported $3.6 million – yet another good reason to hope for fast and furious bidding. But it’s a calculated risk the seasoned property developer is used to taking. “I’ve never bought a property that hasn’t needed renovation – and a lot of it,” he laughs. Speak with the former 60 Minutes journalist for more than five minutes and it’s clear his love of property is as much about seeing homes restored to their former glory as the financial rewards of a job well done. “Renovating is very much in my blood,” he says. Raised in Melbourne, Cress says his parents had great eyes for spotting up-and-coming suburbs. They renovated homes to supplement their incomes as professional artists. In 1974, the family’s first renovation project transformed a dilapidated Edwardian home in the bayside suburb of Sandringham. Three years later the family moved to McMahons Point, Sydney, to start work on a four-storey terrace house with harbour views, which Mr Cress’s father bought for $50,000. “It hadn’t been touched in 80 years, so my dad, my mum, my brother and I spent the next few years knocking out walls, cleaning bricks and painting it up,” he says. Following in his parents’ footsteps, Cress doubled his money on his first renovation project. “My dad always used to say to me, ‘You’re never going to make any money out of journalism. You’re going to have to do what I did; find houses and make them better.”’ Cress’s favourite project is the 300sq m former bus depot he is renovating with his wife, Sarah Armstrong, in Sydney’s inner west. It was also his father’s art studio. “There’s nothing more exciting than starting with a big box where you can do anything, including really screwing it up,” he smiles. To keep costs down, the couple do most of the work themselves, even renovating at night while filming The Block’s 2010 season. When it comes to design ideas and trend advice, Cress describes himself as a “massive consumer” of interior design magazines. He’s also called on past contestants Mark and Duncan to lend a hand. “They’re both really good carpenters,” he says. Cress is in a unique position to learn from contestants, skilled tradespeople and designers during production of The Block. “Then I go home and get out a drop saw, and Sarah says, ‘What the hell are you doing?’ I say, ‘No, I think I can do this. I learnt it today,”’ he laughs. “It’s been great. I’ve impressed myself with some of the skills I’ve picked up in the last couple of years. “It’s much more satisfying if you’ve done it yourself.” It’s this quality that Cress says drives the success of shows such as The Block and MasterChef. “People want to be inspired and know that they, too, could do what they see. Just watching experts do it doesn’t really give you that level of inspiration.” The Block screens at 7pm weeknights on Channel 9. [...]