The Block has only just started, but New Idea‘s real estate expert is concerned that the two teams are at a disadvantage already.
For the first time in the show’s history, the building site boasts some impressive sea views. However, not all of the five homes have the luxury of seeing Mount Eliza’s enviable views of the water.
Of the five lots, Houses 1, 2 and 3 have unobstructed views of the sea, while Houses 4 and 5’s views are obscured by trees.
The first three houses sit on about 1,000 square metres of land and are positioned on a higher slope, with the whole of Port Phillip Bay visible from the top floor.
However, the teams have already been asking if they can build an extra floor on houses four and five to give them the same viewpoint.
Speaking exclusively with New Idea, Senior Buyer Agent at Industry Insider Property in Toorak, Andrew Date, says this difference could cause issues during the auction.
“If you’re a family and you want to live in the home and you want to entertain and you love views, you’re probably not even going to bid on the bottom two, right?” he says.
“You can see the city skyline, you can see a large amount of the bay during the day, it’s beautiful, and at night you see the glimmer of the city skyline.”
The houses have not yet been allocated, though Courtney and Sev have expressed an interest in one of them, on the condition that a viewpoint could be added.
While concerns are rising that Houses 4 and 5 might be at a disadvantage, House 5 does actually have more space than its counterparts, sitting on 1,453 square metres with an additional 50 metres of internal floor space.
So, could this be enough to balance out any disadvantage from the view?
Our expert, Andrew, says he still believes the auction reserves will have to be lower for Houses 4 and 5, due to their differences.
“If they’re not, they’re crazy because the high side has significantly better views, so they’re worth more,” he explains to New Idea.
“If they’re not different in reserve prices, I’d be flabbergasted.”
“A lot of the time on The Block, the reserve prices are very, very similar, but the two on the low side are clearly worth less.”
On the 2025 series, all of the auction reserves were the same at $2.99million, with the only exception being Sonny and Alicia’s property, which was set at $2.94million. However, this was only because they won a $50,000 discount earlier in the series.
With three houses from The Block‘s 2025 series still lying unsold, much attention has already been drawn to the 2026 auction.
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