Long before yesterday's crowd gathered in Hampton East, 22 Charming Street had already spent months in the national spotlight.

The property was House 5 on The Block 2023, where sisters Eliza and Liberty transformed the Charming Street property into an impressive contemporary family residence.

Sitting on approximately 632 square metres, the finished five-bedroom home featured expansive living areas, a designer kitchen, landscaped outdoor entertaining spaces and the distinctive personality viewers came to associate with the sisters throughout the season.

When The Block properties went to auction in 2023, Portelli purchased Eliza and Liberty's home for $4.3 million.

Against their $3.25 million reserve, the result delivered the sisters $1.05 million above reserve and cemented 22 Charming Street as one of the standout properties from the season.

Fast-forward to Sunday morning and Charming Street was once again preparing for an auction - only this time there was a significant twist.

The reserve was not $3 million. It was not $2 million. It wasn't even $100,000.

It was the type of figure guaranteed to capture attention, and interest in the property had been building well before auction day arrived.

With Ray White Sunbury managing the campaign and Tom Panos holding the gavel, the scene was set for an auction that combined the theatre of a traditional onsite sale with the reach of a live digital auction.

The opening figure might have been symbolic, but the competition that followed was very real.

As bidding gathered pace, the price quickly moved away from its extraordinary starting point, travelling through the hundreds of thousands and eventually into the millions.

At $2.2 million, the property reached the point where it could be sold.

Yet the auction was far from finished.

Competition continued before the hammer eventually came down at $3.245 million.

For Auctions Live, Sunday's event also demonstrated something that is becoming increasingly important across Australian real estate.

What happens directly in front of the auctioneer no longer tells the entire story.

Buyers following an auction remotely can remain connected to the action in real time, creating an auction environment that extends well beyond the property's front boundary.

There can be moments onsite when the crowd appears to go quiet. Hands stop rising. Everyone waits for the next move.

But that doesn't necessarily mean the competition has stopped.

Behind the physical crowd, online activity can still be running red hot.

Charming Street was another reminder that the modern auction audience is no longer defined simply by the people physically standing in front of the auctioneer.

The Auctions Live team attended the auction in person, joining the Ray White Sunbury team and those who had gathered at Charming Street to watch proceedings unfold.

Among the team onsite was senior Auctions Live team member Nathan Portelli.

That created one coincidence which was difficult to miss.

The property's owner was Adrian Portelli. Auctions Live had Nathan Portelli onsite.

Same surname. No family connection.

It provided a light-hearted subplot to an auction already filled with memorable moments.

The final fall of the hammer also marked another beginning.

A home that had already moved from suburban Melbourne residence, to television renovation project, to national auction spectacle was now passing to its next owners.