Our First Home's remarkable makeovers revealed

The Gourleys' open plan kitchen, dining and living room is sure to appeal to buyers

After sweating and slaving their way through three huge renovation projects, the families behind TV One's Our First Home are bracing themselves for auction.

The three properties, all located in West Auckland, will be auctioned on three consecutive nights, starting this Sunday.

Image 1 of 23: The Gourley's kitchen before renovation.

The family that earns the most money at auction, relative to the purchase price of the property, will take home a $100,000 prize.

Our First Home host Goran Paladin says all three families deserve to win, after they overcame a host of challenges to complete the transformations.

The Schreuders faced serious delays as they battled with consents in the early stages, before discovering they needed a new concrete slab in the garage.

"That posed a huge challenge," says Paladin. "But the family worked through the night to remove the old before pouring the new. Huge effort."

Architect and judge Eva Nash says all the families have delivered impressive results and it will be a close race for the win as each team has a secret weapon that will appeal to different buyers.

"[The Schreuders'] new deck is an entertainers paradise... It acts like another room of the house and helps the living room feel larger because of the large doors that flow onto it. The deck draws the eye to the magnificent views and adds a lot of value to the home," she says.

Meanwhile, the Gourleys open plan living room is also a winner.

"It is now filled with sunlight and flows effortlessly onto the new deck. The new open plan kitchen/dining/living room creates a modern living feel with a seamless indoor-outdoor flow. They have created their own private oasis," says Nash.

The Wardlaws invested in a new media, which Nash says has added huge appeal for prospective buyers.

"It's added a lot of value to the house as it offers buyers a flexible space that can be a second living or teenagers retreat."

She also commended them on their bathroom design, which she says feels like "a generous spa retreat".

Likewise, property adviser and fellow judge Sara Hartigan says the Wardlaws bathroom is a standout. The family also added a second bathroom to their property, which will add significant value.

"The Wardlaws have added an extra bathroom and the Schreuders have an added bedroom. This is huge in dollar value,' she explains.

But as the families compete for the ultimate prize, Our First Home has become an unlikely winner in the TV ratings.

After initially losing the ratings war to X Factor NZ, which screens in the same timeslot on TV3, Our First Home has seen a steady rise in ratings.

Sunday night saw 427,000 viewers tuning in to the TV One renovation show, compared to just 236,000 that watched X Factor.

• Our First Home screens Sunday, Monday and Tuesday at 7.30pm on TV One.

- nzherald.co.nz