The Block serial buyer Danny Wallis snapped up the two homes that failed under the hammer at last year’s auctions for a big discount. Picture: Jake Nowakowski.
The Block’s two failed Daylesford auction homes have sold for an eye-watering $840,000, 28 per cent, discount and left Channel Nine more than $3m in the red on building costs.
The Herald Sun understands the two lingering listings wound up selling for just $2.15m as the show sought to end the nine-month headache of its dud results.
RELATED: Both dud Block homes sold, blow to last year’s stars
Block judges issue brutal warning to new contestants
The Block 2026 Episode 5 recap: First room reveals come with tough judge feedback
Meanwhile prizeless contestants Hannah (Han) Thetford and Candice (Can) Wood have told website chattr.com.au that they found out their home had sold via social media, without being informed by The Block or the real estate agents handling the transaction.
It comes as this year’s price guides have been revealed at $3.6m-$3.9m, higher than the $3m-$3.3m that the Daylesford homes were advertised for in 2025.
Richlister Danny Wallis said after having watched the homes linger for months, and take two price cuts, he had figured Channel 9 would be willing to negotiate on the sale.
“With the new season starting, I figured they wouldn’t want old stock lying around and even at $2.6m they were a good buy,” he said.
“They couldn’t have stock left over from last year. It’s not a good look while they are running this year’s show.
“And they were just too cheap. So I have gone against my plan to not buy anything else in Victoria.”
With a nine-figure wealth to his name, the entrepreneur said he would rent the homes out — as he had done with a third property he had acquired during the show’s auctions last year.
5 Cedar Lane, Daylesford, was renovated by Emma and Ben in 2025.
4 Cedar Lane, Daylesford, was renovated by Han and Can.
Past properties bought by Mr Wallis have gone on to host the families of sick kids receiving medical treatment in charitable arrangements with groups like Ronald McDonald House and My Room.
The 2026 season of The Block commenced on August 2, with a new wave of contestants now facing a struggling Melbourne property market that could make planned spring auctions a difficult prospect.
This year’s season is set in Mt Eliza, where PropTrack data shows the $1.685m median house value fell $6661 (0.4 per cent) in the June quarter of this year.
The decline, as well as the final sale price for the Daylesford homes, are likely to be an alarm bell for this year’s contestants — with Melbourne market experts revealing they would be “nervous” about their prospects.
Inside 5 Cedar Lane, which is expected to be made available to the rental market.
The sumptuous digs at 4 Cedar Lane, will also soon be available to tenants.
After last year’s dud auctions Scott Cam sought to comfort the two teams of failed contestants in the aftermath of the auctions, noting they still had “the opportunity to be rewarded for their hard work as their houses go back on the market first thing tomorrow morning”.
“We’ve got two and a half million viewers watching that show, so we’ve got plenty of potential buyers that will be aware that there’s two houses still available,” Cam said to News Corp at the time.
In the same interview, he also acknowledged the $2.99m reserves had been too high, but denied contestants had been “fed to the sharks” — arguing that Britt and Taz’s $3.4m result showed the money had been there.
Despite this, Ms Thetford and Ms Wood have noted that they found out about the sale finally going through via their Facebook Feed.
“We hadn’t been contacted or updated by the agent or The Block so we genuinely had no idea it had sold or what was happening with the house,” Ms Thetford told Chattr.
Show producer Julian Cress also revealed in the aftermath of the failed auctions that the reserves were above his pay grade and had been set by people “at a much higher level at Nine”.
“The result wasn’t that bad,” Mr Cress said at the time.
“We’ve got a couple of houses that we need to sell at a level that would return over 100 grand in profit to the contestants who played the game, and we’ve got a couple who made over half a million dollars. I think we need to remain calm about this.”
A pool and outdoor entertainment space at 4 Cedar Lane helped add value to the building costs’ depreciation schedule, but not to the sale price.
Given Emma and Ben Cox’s home had received a $2.9m offer under the hammer, but passed in on a $3.1m vendor bid as it was still below the reserve — it’s possible Channel 9 might also be among those left stinging by the final figure.
Just over nine months on, the final result is shockingly low — even compared with heavily discounted price guides that plunged to $2.59m and $2.6m in June this year.
And that cut had followed an earlier price cut in April that had already taken close to six figures off the 2025 asking price.
At $2.15m, the sales are a whopping 28 per cent below the $2.99m reserves.
It also works out to the two homes selling for less than 40 per cent of what it cost the show to build them, with both coming in at more than $3.3m below depreciation schedules prepared for the homes.
BMT Tax Depreciation had estimated Emma and Ben Cox’s build’s depreciation costs at $5,474,110, while Hannah (Han) Thetford and Candice (Can) Wood’s came in at $5,465,637.
The figure should be roughly equivalent to the cost of producing and furnishing the homes, and represents the tax write-off potential for an investor buyer of the property.
The Block contestants Emma and Ben wound up having to sell their own home after their appearance on the show left them without any prize money.
The Block 2025 contestants Han and Can will get no prize with the sale price of their Block renovation confirmed below the reserve. Picture: Channel 9.
It’s a blow for the two sets of contestants who renovated a home and walked away without a prize after The Block was widely panned for its high reserves last year.
The $2.99m minimum sales threshold was almost 3.7 times Daylesford’s $810,000 median house price at the time.
By August this year, the suburb’s typical house was selling for $800,000 — a 1.2 per cent ($10,000) drop.
Prominent Melbourne buyer’s agent Cate Bakos said while Mt Eliza had broader appeal, and a typically wealthier buyer base than those looking at Daylesford, she would still be worried for this year’s contestants.
“It’s got a better chance of success than Daylesford,” Ms Bakos said.
“I’d be nervous. The market conditions aren’t great.”
Sign up to the Herald Sun Weekly Real Estate Update. Click here to get the latest Victorian property market news delivered direct to your inbox.
MORE: Japanese corporate giants move on Melbourne to fund housing fix