Major change to The Block could see houses sell for $125,000 more at auction

The Block 2025 is set to feature a first in the show's history, with the new cast of Blockheads being tasked with building five homes from scratch, instead of renovating existing ones. The 21st season of the reality series will take place in Daylesford, Victoria, with documents submitted to the local area suggesting that only shells of the homes will be provided for the contestants.

In another milestone for the show, the homes on Raglan Street will also be eco-friendly. The residences are designed to be carbon neutral and feature solar panels, which comply with the minimum standards in Victoria that all new builds meet a seven-star energy efficiency threshold under the Nationwide House Energy Rating Scheme.

The houses' eco-friendly features could prove beneficial for the Blockheads at auction time, with Domain's second annual Sustainability in Property Report finding that green homes are easier to sell.

The report revealed that energy-efficient homes receive more attention from buyers nationwide, resulting in quicker sales compared to their non-energy-efficient counterparts and that green homes attract over 16% more listing views and spend 4% fewer days on the market. The report also found that green homes also sell for a higher price - with energy-efficient houses commanding 20.9% (+$125,500) more than non-energy-efficient residences. Meanwhile, an energy-efficient apartment commands 30.8% (+$152,000) more than a non-energy-efficient one.

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This could be good news for the new cast, given that serial buyer - entrepreneur Adrian Portelli - made the surprise announcement at the end of the 2024 season that he would not be returning to the show in 2025.

Block fans major prediction for 2025 season

The online promotions guru, who is one of Australia’s youngest billionaires, made history during this year's Block finale when he purchased all five houses for a whopping $15.03 million.

He then revealed at the end of the episode that he wanted to “go out with a bang” by purchasing Maddy and Charlotte’s house for $3.5 million because it was his “final appearance” on The Block. The decision left fans shocked as Adrian has been a major presence at the past three auctions, bidding on Omar and Oz’s property in 2022 and purchasing three houses in 2023.

Viewers then began theorising that next year’s contestants won’t make as much money at auction without the prospect of Adrian bidding on their houses.

“I don't think we are gonna see these profits again now that Adrian is done!” one person commented on Instagram, while another replied, “My thought exactly!”.

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“Next year no Adrian Portelli. No one’s gonna profit anything,” a third added, followed by a different user who said, “I don’t think that type of money will be seen again”.

“I feel for next year’s Block contestants, they will be lucky if they sell the houses now Adrian Portelli’s done with The Block,” someone else remarked.

Others argued that it’s “not worth signing up next season” if Adrian won’t be buying any houses, with one fan writing: “What a bizarre season. Kinda put me and my hubby off submitting our audition.”

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