As a lifestyle enthusiast, I have to say, The Block really delivered this season! After 49 episodes filled with renovations and challenges, we finally saw all five incredible homes go up for auction on Sunday – it was a truly dramatic finale!
A large group of bidders, including experienced participant Danny Wallis, gathered in the country town of Daylesford on Saturday for the latest filming location of the Channel Nine series, which will air in 2025.
Even though the houses were considered quite expensive compared to other homes in the area, three out of the five properties sold to winning bidders on a stressful auction day.
Britt and Taz, a couple from Western Australia, had the highest sale of the day, selling their beautifully renovated house for $3.41 million, in a surprising outcome.
The popular team won a total of $520,000, including a $420,000 prize and a $100,000 bonus, from a prize pool of $2.99 million.
But it all went downhill from there.
Adrian Portelli, who usually bids in person, wasn’t present. An anonymous bidder on the phone ultimately won, after competing with Melbourne businessman and tech entrepreneur Danny Wallis.
As a lifestyle expert, I’ve seen plenty of renovations, and the recent sale of Robby and Mat’s South Australian property was definitely one to watch! While it sold for a solid $3.099 million, the profit they made – just under $110,000 – was surprisingly modest considering the effort and investment involved. It just goes to show, renovation profits aren’t always what they seem!
The friends were really upset with how little money they won, and now they have to share it amongst themselves.
Sonny and Alicia recently sold their house for $3.06 million, which was $120,000 more than the minimum price they were willing to accept.
Despite the small yield, the couple were happy with the result.
However, not all of the participants were successful in selling their properties. Emma and Ben, along with Han and Can, didn’t receive enough bids or offers to complete a sale.
Emma and Ben were devastated when their house didn’t sell at auction. Despite bids reaching $3.1 million, no one was willing to meet their minimum price of $2.99 million.
Han and Can weren’t able to sell their house either, leaving the women devastated that they were leaving the show with nothing to show for their efforts.
Han and Can were very emotional during the episode, feeling like their experience on the show hadn’t gone well at all.
The only success story of the day, Britt and Taz were delighted with their win.
Winning this award feels amazing, especially considering all the effort we’ve put in. It’s truly life-changing – it will allow us to pay off our mortgage! They were overjoyed with the result.
Honestly, it’s a bit of a rollercoaster right now. I was really hoping everyone would get a sale, you know? We put our hearts into our auction, and I truly believed we set the standard for how things should go. We took it on ourselves to do that, and I was absolutely floored by how it all played out – shocked, honestly!
We worked well together until the very end, so we’re disappointed with how things turned out today.
Taz said he was very proud of Britt, as he wasn’t as eager to appear on the show.
We’d been putting the project off for years because the timing never felt right, but I finally agreed to do it because of Britt. She was committed from the start, had a clear idea of what she wanted, and made it happen.
Executive Producer, Julian Cress, admitted this season had been a slog.
Honestly, auction day is the worst. It’s the one day of the year I dread waking up for work – I actually feel sick to my stomach just thinking about it. It’s tough on everyone involved, but it really hits me hard.
We become very attached to our contestants after spending months with them, so we’re naturally anxious and want them all to succeed.
He added that it was a mixed feeling to see two old coins from the Pilbara region sell for half a million dollars – a fantastic result – but also disappointing to see a young couple, Emma and Ben, who recently had a baby, and Han and Can, not have their items sold at auction.
‘It was an up and down and sometimes very tough day for some.’
Before the auction, people worried it might not go well, as the asking prices for the homes in Daylesford seemed very high.
Earlier this year, the creators of these five projects announced they were aiming to sell them for between $3 million and $3.3 million.
The extremely high asking prices didn’t reflect the actual cost of homes in the Victorian town, where houses were four times more affordable.
Recent data from PropTrack shows the average home price in Daylesford is about $820,000, down 7.1 percent from last year.
Additionally, the listed prices for homes were four times higher than what similar homes actually sold for, raising concerns that few would sell, or that any sales would exceed previous local highs.
According to Kim McQueen, director of McQueen Real Estate, only one property in Daylesford has ever sold for $3 million or more, to the best of her knowledge.
The real estate agent handling Robby and Mat’s house sale didn’t seem confident many people would bid at the auction.
It’s always difficult to find buyers willing to spend $3 million or more on a property outside of major cities, as there aren’t many people with that kind of budget in regional areas.
Having five houses next to each other all priced over $3 million presents a significant challenge for selling them.
Before the Daylesford auction, many people were talking about whether Adrian Portelli, a frequent bidder at these events, would be attending.
Back in July, host Scott Cam sent a blunt warning to Portelli ahead of the season premiere.
On the Nova 96.9 show Fitzy & Wippa with Kate Ritchie, Cam pleaded with Portelli to skip this year’s auction so someone else could have the opportunity to buy a home.
We told Adrian we’d prefer if he didn’t attend next year, but ultimately it’s his decision. It’s a public auction, so he’s free to do as he pleases, as he always has been.
He told us he probably won’t be able to make it, but there’s still a chance he might. We’re not sure either way, but we definitely want to offer parents the chance to try building a house on The Block.
‘If Adrian comes and wants to buy the lot of them, well, that rules them out,’ Scott said.
We’re hoping to see some people attend who can speak up for families and really challenge things this year.
In the 2024 season finale of The Block, Adrian made an unprecedented move by buying all five properties for a total of $15 million.
He made Maddy and Charlotte Harry the youngest people ever to win a competition by purchasing their house for $3.5 million.
LMCT+, Adrian’s company, often gives away properties featured on The Block. For example, they recently purchased and raffled off Steph and Gian’s winning home for $5 million.
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2025-10-26 13:50