Tools down! After a busy three months, The Block 2024 houses on Phillip Island in Victoria are complete. The five teams have transformed the dated Island Cove Villas, located at 113-119 Justice Road, Cowes, into five supersized, Julian Brenchley-designed holiday homes. “It’s hard to believe three months ago we were sleeping in a tent and now we’re sleeping in a multimillion-dollar mansion,” said contestant Ricky.
Price guides were set at $1.7-$1.85 million for each house at the start of the season, before final reserves were set at $1.95 million (with Mimi and Kristian getting $50k off for winning the communal area challenge). While that sounds ambitious, the majority of The Block houses 2023 sold in the multimillions, with the winning home by Steph and Gian selling for $5 million. To put the power of The Block houses in perspective, the median house price in Cowes is $765,000, so they were expected to sell for at least a million dollars more.
The auction aired on Sunday, November 10, at 7pm on Channel 9 and 9Now and billionaire entrepreneur Adrian Portelli bought the complete set of holiday houses. Prices ranged from $2.6 million for Kylie and Brad’s house (with the couple taking home $650k) to $3.5 million for Maddy and Charlotte’s house (who won a whopping $1.65m).
The auction was a heart-racing event for all involved, with the contestants having put their lives (and relationships) on the line to be part of the series. “If you have a crack in yourself, in your relationship, The Block will bring that out,” confirmed plumber Ricky, who competed alongside best mate Haydn, who works in IT. Others from The Block’s 20th season agreed, with Mimi calling it “the hardest thing we’ve ever done”.
Even married couple Courtney and Grant, who were confident in their design skills, found it difficult. “You don’t realise how hard it is until you’re actually on The Block,” said Courtney. “It’s so mentally and physically taxing.” As we know, couple Jesse and Paige only made it to week four before bowing out, being replaced by sisters Maddy and Charlotte, who do house flipping for a living. “It’s not for the faint of heart, that’s for sure,” said Maddy.
It’s certainly been a season of firsts, with the teams renovating a resort on an island. “There’s never been anything like this on The Block and never will be again,” said judge Shaynna Blaze. Take a look through all of The Block 2024 houses and find out how much they sold for below.
Tour every house on The Block 2024
The Block houses 2024
Take a tour of the holiday homes, completed by the five teams.
1st: Maddy and Charlotte’s house
Classic meets contemporary in this soothing coastal home. It began with original The Block team Jesse and Paige who left after four weeks, before being taken over by Sydney sisters Maddy and Charlotte. “I do feel proud. We did that and it’s a huge achievement,” said Maddy. Coming in late didn’t dampen their determination to add their own design stamp. “They came in with a bang and did some really good stuff and got 10s,” said Shaynna. “We’ve got to acknowledge how great they’ve done with the house.”
Reserve: $1.95m
Sale price: $3.5m
Profit: $1.55m + $100k = $1.65m prize money
2nd: Courtney and Grant’s house
With a background in furniture design and landscaping, this couple is a force to be reckoned with. “We put 110 per cent effort, tears, sweat, you name it, it all went into the house,” said Courtney. “We couldn’t have done any more, it’s been incredible,” agreed Grant. Their Modern Mediterranean escape is a medley of majestic marble, Venetian plaster, travertine tiles and American oak. “They’ve delivered something that will inspire Australians for the next few years in a style that we haven’t seen before,” said judge Shaynna Blaze.
Reserve: $1.95m
Sale price: $3.3m
Profit/prize money: $1.35m
3rd: Mimi and Kristian’s house
This recently-married couple set the bar high, with an elevated coastal style that had this team on a winning streak early on. Oceanic emeralds and tactile materials echo the island’s natural elements. “It has consistently good bathrooms, great kitchen, the bedrooms are all beautifully designed, it’s detailed well,” said judge Darren Palmer. “They have put a lot of care and attention and time and effort into this house and it shows.” This holiday house has shaped up to be a nautical delight.
Reserve: $1.95m minus $50k for winning challenge = $1.9m
Sale price: $2.93m
Profit/prize money: $1.03m
4th: Ricky and Haydn’s house
These best mates have embraced the coastal setting with an easy, breezy design style. After going their separate ways with their builder earlier in the season, they recruited former The Block contestant Duncan Miller and a new team to help them finish their “fun house”. “We wouldn’t have been able to achieve this without the team we’ve got. They’re the unsung heroes,” said Ricky. Crisp whites, greens, blues and timber evoke the feeling of barefoot beach days. “They’re the most impressive team in terms of listening and adapting, and they’ve built a really appealing house,” said judge Marty Fox.
Reserve: $1.95m
Sale price: $2.7m
Profit/prize money: $750k
5th: Kylie and Brad’s house
The headstrong parents-of-four from Cairns brought their taste for black and white to the island. “We literally live day-to-day,” said Kylie of their lives back home. “You’re sort of just hopeful that you do enough on your house here that someone’s going to want to buy it.” Despite struggling with critiques from the judges and relationship issues, they’ve executed a holiday house that’s anything but vanilla. “They should be really proud of themselves,” said Darren. “We all want them to do well.”
Reserve: $1.95m
Sale price: $2.6m
Profit/prize money: $650k
Take a tour of all The Block holiday houses so far
Week 5: Main bedrooms and walk-in robe reveals
Week 8: Living and dining reveals
Week 9: Office and rumpus room reveals
Week 10: Laundry and guest bedroom reveals
In case you missed it:
This article originally appeared on Home Beautiful and is republished here with permission.
