Concerns are rising amongst fans that the five luxury Daylesford properties that have been renovated on season 21 of The Block will fail to sell at auction.
But it’s not just fans that are worried, so are the producers.
With price guides set between $3 million and $3.3 million, the reserve price is sure to be steep and no doubt stressful for our Blockheads, all of whom signed up for the gruelling reality renovation series in the hopes of taking home a life-changing payday.
However, The Block executive producer Julian Cress told TV Tonight there’s uncertainty around all five selling on the day.
“It’s a different because they’re bigger and it’s a different market to Phillip Island. Phillip Island has rarely seen a house sale over $2 million, whereas Daylesford has seen beautiful homes change hands in the $3m- $4m bracket,” he explained.
“But selling five houses side by side in Daylesford has never been done in one day. So I think my nervousness is around our ability to achieve 100% clearance rate.
“Do I think that the houses are worth what we’re asking? 100 per cent. Do I think there are people out there who will buy them for what we’re asking? 100%.
“Do I think we can sell all five of them on one day in an auction environment? 50%.”
In 2025, The Block auction will take place on October 25 and air on Channel Nine a day later on October 26.
He told the publication that there needs to be a minimum of two people bidding on each home in order for the auction day to be a complete success.
Is Adrian Portelli going to The Block 2025 auction?
According to Julian, Danny Wallis has registered, and Frank Valentic has been showing clients the homes for several weeks.
While the reserve prices for each of the properties and auction order have yet to be confirmed, there’s been speculation about Adrian Portelli’s attendance.
The billionaire famously purchased all five houses on Phillip Island from The Block in 2024, spending $15.03m on auction day.
Prior to that, he splashed out a collective $16.65m on four other properties from the show in 2022 and 2023 – including $5m on Steph and Gian’s Hampton East abode, which saw them take home a record $1.75m.
This year, even though the father-of-one said he won’t be in attendance, he was spotted at Emma and Ben’s property.
“He turned up to one of the real estate agents VIP events last week, so he has seen one house,” Julian told TV Tonight. “But look, he was very clear last year, he said as publicly as you can, ‘I’ve done my block. Now I bought all five houses, and that’s it for me. I’m done, I’m out.’
“Adrian Portelli is a gentleman, and he as a gentleman, was very clear with me and the audience that he wasn’t going to come to this year’s auction, so I can only assume that he won’t.”
Earlier this year, Scott Cam also weighed in on his potential presence.
“You know, we might not get ridiculous prices, but we’re going to give mums and dads the opportunities to buy one of these houses,” he told realestate.com.au earlier this year when asked about Adrian’s exit from the show.
“And we’re going to give families the opportunity to buy one. Or holiday houses for people. It’s going to open it right up. We want these homes to go to families,” he added.
With no safety net in place, it’s likely that at least one team may walk away with nothing to show from their efforts.
Julian also told the Herald Sun that he believed that while the stakes were higher than ever, the show was still incredibly successful.
“Every season is a gamble, but the more risks we take, the longer we stay on air,” he said.
Judge Marty Fox said the “element of the unknown” was what made auction day so exciting when speaking to the same publication.
“[The homes are appealing to] buyers with a certain net worth, people who’ve built successful businesses, had overnight wins, or need tax-effective investment opportunities,” he added.
