The next season of The Block could be on course for another auction fail, with insiders warning that contestants’ chances could be hurt by the producers’ choice of a quieter Victorian property market.

Insiders say the 2026 season will be filmed in Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula – 50km outside of Melbourne – raising concerns the show could see another year of disappointing auction results.

The 2025 season saw high expectations dashed when auction day failed to deliver the kind of profits viewers have come to expect, in which celebrity buyers would swoop in and purchase the properties at inflated prices.

This year, two of the five contestants didn’t even sell their properties, while winners Taz and Britt walked away with a profit lower than the last-placed contestants of 2024.

Meanwhile, two teams – Han and Can and Emma and Ben – were left empty-handed, with no bids on their property above the opening vendor bid.

Auctioneer Tom Panos, who presided over this year’s auction day, said the absence of celebrity buyers like Adrian Portelli was a major factor in the disappointing results.

The next season of The Block could be on course for another auction fail, with insiders warning that contestants’ chances could be hurt by the producers’ choice of a quieter Victorian property market. Pictured: Series host Scott Cam with contestants Robby and Mat

He explained that this year local dynamics came into play, citing the show’s decision to film in Daylesford, about 120km northwest of Melbourne – a market still around 11 per cent below its 2022 peak.

For the 2026 series, producers have set their sights on Mount Eliza, 62km south of Melbourne.

Like Daylesford, the area’s property prices remain about 10 per cent below their 2022 highs – Panos warns that this could see history repeat.

‘There are two types of buyers on The Block. Celebrity buyers looking for marketing investment, and the normal buyers we see every Saturday,’ he told Realestate.com.au.

‘That’s why we saw such a big disparity between prices in this season and last. There was no celebrity factor so we were left with far more rational decision making.’

Panos noted that in previous seasons, buyers like Portelli ensured huge results by purchasing multiple properties at inflated sums.

He added that the show’s tendency to pick slower real estate markets – often in regional Victoria – limited contestants’ potential profits, as people were buying the houses as an investment rather than to live in.

Panos said he believes the auctions might be more successful if the houses were located in more desirable living areas.

Insiders say the 2026 season will be filmed in Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula, raising concerns the show could see another year of disappointing auction results. Pictured: Contestants Han and Can

‘The producers will have their own matrix for choosing locations, but I think there is a higher chance you would get crazy prices if you were in a marketplace with different dynamics and higher demand,’ he said.

With Mount Eliza set to host the 2026 season, some are already questioning whether The Block’s next batch of contestants will be fighting an uphill battle before they even swing a hammer.

It comes after furious The Block viewers lashed out at the show for being ‘out of touch’ after Sunday night’s auction day grand finale saw only one of the five teams net a big win.

During the shock episode, a solid field of bidders – including series veteran Danny Wallis – turned out to the rural Victorian town of Daylesford, the site of the 2025 iteration of the Channel Nine series.

WA couple Britt and Taz took out the top sale of the day – offloading their stylish House 3 for an impressive $3.41 million, as the fan favourites walked away $420,000 richer – adding to that, a $100,000 bonus prize, netting them a total $520,000.

Although two other teams made a small profit, in an unexpected twist, two groups walked away empty-handed after their homes failed to attract any successful bids.

Stunned viewers took to social media to lash out at both the contestants for being ‘greedy’ and the series for placing unrealistic expectations on its participants.

‘Every year on The Block, the contestants seem to get a little greedier. It’s reached the point where a $100k profit is treated like a disappointment, when in reality, most people would be thrilled with that kind of money,’ one person sniped.

The 2025 season saw high expectations dashed when auctions failed to deliver the kind of profits viewers have come to expect, in which celebrity buyers would swoop in and purchase the properties at inflated prices. Pictured: Series co-host Shelley Craft

‘Approximately 25% of Australian employees earn over $106,700 per year. These greedy f***s earned that in 10 weeks. Try telling your midwife who’s helping deliver your baby how ripped off you are. Sure that will really fly. NOT,’ a second complained.

‘The Block has gotten so unrealistic. We are in a housing crisis – build everyday homes for everyday people. Stop with this overpriced crap,’ a third chipped in.

Despite concerns that the Daylesford houses were priced way above the median for the area, the nerve-wracking auction day saw three of the five homes sell to successful bidders.

Serial Block bidder Adrian Portelli was absent from proceedings, with the winning bid coming from an anonymous phone bidder, after a battle with Melbourne rich lister and IT entrepreneur, Danny Wallis.

Fellow renovators Robby and Mat fetched $3.099million, netting the best mates a meagre $109,999 profit.

The lads were bitterly disappointed with the winning amount, which they will have to split between them.

Meanwhile, Sonny and Alicia sold their home for $3.06 million – $120,000 above their $2.94 million reserve. Despite the small yield, the couple were happy with the result.

But not everyone walked away with a sale, as both Emma and Ben, and Han and Can, failed to attract enough interest to get their properties over the line.

There were fears of an auction disaster in the lead-up to the big day, with the eye-watering price guides on the Daylesford homes raising some eyebrows.

Earlier this year, it was revealed that the teams behind the five properties were hoping to fetch $3 million to $3.3 million for their creations.

However, the insanely high price guide did not match up with the median house prices in the Victorian town, where homes are four times cheaper.