All that effort doesn’t always go rewarded.

Not everyone walks away from The Block auctions richer. Photos: Channel 9

With The Block auctions just days away, it’s anyone’s guess as to who will walk away with a life-changing amount of money and who will head home with their tail between their legs. In between all of the drama and tantrums, this year’s contestants have somehow managed to complete their houses in Daylesford, Victoria, and they will now go under the hammer in Sunday night’s finale episode.

Last year’s season saw all five teams receive over $650,000 in profit, with winners Maddy and Charlotte earning $1.55 million in addition to the $100,000 prize money from Channel 9. But it’s not all profits on Australia’s favourite reality show, with plenty of couples left disappointed over the years.

2023 — Leah and Ash

In 2023, controversial couple Leah and Ash Milton decided to pass their property in at auction and walked away with nothing.

They finally sold their Charming Street house for $3.125 million in February last year after almost four months of uncertainty, giving them a tidy profit of $155,000.

Leah told Yahoo Lifestyle at the time that they were feeling “very grateful and proud” about the end result.

“It was always our aim to create a really special and unique home for a buyer who would truly appreciate it,” she shared. “There’s no sweeter feeling than pouring your blood, sweat, and tears into something and having someone fall in love with the end product.”

Leah and Ash sold their property four months after the show’s auction. Photo: Channel 9

2022 — Multiple contestants pass in their properties

In 2022, Tom Calleja and Sarah-Jane Wilson had a disappointing auction result when their house sold for $4,100,000.99, only giving them $20,000.99 profit.

After that result, the remaining couples, Rachel and Ryan Carr, Ankur Dogra and Sharon Johal, and Dylan Adams and Jenny Heath, decided to pass in their properties, meaning that they could see the reserve price wasn’t going to be met and decided to try their luck with post-auction negotiations.

While Rachel and Ryan were lucky, securing a buyer and a $169,000.50 profit on the day, the others had to wait until the show was over to sell their properties.

Dylan and Jenny finally managed to sell their five-bedroom Gisbourne property in February 2023.

It was then revealed in May that their home sold for $3.9 million, which was $180,000 below their original reserve price and $175,000 less than the highest bid they received at the auction.

Tom and Sarah-Jane earned just $20,000.99 profit on the show in 2023. Photo: Channel 9

Other auction flops of The Block

But they weren’t the first couples not to make the reserve amount on auction day.

In the second season of the show back in 2004, two of the four properties didn’t sell at auction, meaning Steven Starkey and Richard Sterry, and Matt Martino and Jane Newton made no profit.

When the series was revived with Scott Cam in 2010, one of the four apartments, Cheryl “Chez” Gravina and Brenton Courts’ property, also made no profit after failing to sell at auction.

Chez and Brenton’s top floor unit in The Block failed to sell. Photos: Channel 9

In the 2011 season of the show, only one property sold, Polly Porter and Waz Jones’ house, which meant the winning house also made one of the lower profits across the seasons, netting just $15,000 above reserve on their property.

Being experienced on The Block doesn’t always help your profit margin either. In The Block: All Stars in 2013, best mates Mark Bowyer and Duncan Miller only managed a $25,000 profit.

“It was disappointing,” Duncan told 9News at the time. “I dare say that the bloke that bought it, he knows he got it for $200,000 less than what it was worth,” he added.

Polly and Waz may have won The Block in 2011 but they only made $15,000 in profit. Photo: Nine

‘Everyone was expecting a bit more’

In 2014, couples Michael and Carlene Duffy and Darren and Deanne Jolly, who were fourth and fifth in the auction order, respectively, only made $10,000 profit on their properties.

Considering Daz and Dea had won $30,000 off their reserve price during the challenges, and Michael and Carlene had won $20,000 off their reserve price, both couples were lucky to get any profit at all.

In 2017, after a few seasons of healthy auction profits, Clint and Hannah Amos, who renovated House 2 in the Melbourne suburb of Elsternwick, only managed to secure $95,000 profit. Nothing to sneeze at, but certainly not what the contestants were hoping for.

“As a group, everyone was expecting a bit more,” 2017 winner Josh Barker said.

The Block‘s Clint and Hannah made $95,000 when their Elsternwick house sold at auction, a big difference to the $447,000 winners Josh and Elyse made. Photo: Nine

Who will win The Block 2025?

Fan favourites Britt and Taz are currently tipped to win this year’s season of The Block, with 51 per cent of Yahoo Lifestyle’s readers voting for them as the predicted champions.

While the reserve prices will be unveiled in Sunday night’s episode, the online listings on Domain reveal that each property has an indicative selling price between $3 million and $3.3 million.

All five auctions will take place on Saturday, October 25, and air the following night on Channel 9, with the winning team taking home $100,000 on top of their profit from their sale.