The Block 2025: Who were the bidders in the room on auction day

While contestants are busy over 13 weeks with a gruelling renovation schedule that no one outside a reality TV show would even attempt, their agents have just as mammoth a task: finding buyers for The Block houses.

With billionaire Block buyer Adrian Portelli ruling himself out of the buyer pool for the Daylesford season – despite being spotted on-site recently – it opened the door for other interested buyers to bid for the properties without fear of being knocked out by a million-dollar rise in bids.

So, who were the serious bidders in the room on Block auction weekend, and who were the people there to be seen?

Here are all the well-known and new faces Domain spotted at The Block auctions.

Danny Wallis – The IT entrepreneur

A Block regular since he burst on the scene with his quirky bids in 2012, Danny Wallis was again front and centre at this year’s auctions, along with his dog, Herbie.

With his sister by his side and Herbie wandering through the bidders, Wallis cut a familiar sight in his jacket and flat cap.

While he arrived minus his supercar but not without his wallet, he raised his paddle for his customary dollars-and-cents bids, keeping auctioneers on their toes.

After failing to buy a house in the previous two seasons, Wallis was due a win, and after bidding unsuccessfully on Britt and Taz’s House 3, snapped up Robby and Mat’s House 5 for $3,099,999.10. Wallis plans to rent out the property, as he has done with his previous purchases.

Frank Valentic – The buyer’s advocate

The veteran buyer’s advocate, who has bid at 17 seasons in a row, was another familiar face among the bidders. Rarely off the phone during the auctions, Valentic bid on four of the five houses this year, winning House 4 for his client.

“We’ve bought nine properties on The Block, and number 10 has been the elusive one to get into double figures,” Valentic said.

“The last time we bought was Bronte Court in Hampton, so we missed out the past few series. Obviously Adrian and Danny have been really dominant, but not having Adrian there today was obviously a good thing for our clients.”

Valentic said he wouldn’t rule out hanging up his paddle and “give the young kids a shot”.

“I think now, including today, that would be 61 I’ve bid on out of that 85 and we’ve now just hit the 10 today.”

Jack Dalgety – The property developer

Despite his bright blue shirt and shiny green Aston Martin sports car, the property developer, who gave his name as Jack Dalgety, did his best to keep a low profile at The Block auctions.

While his bidding paddle didn’t get much of a workout, Dalgety is no stranger to The Block, having been an underbidder in season 2 in Manly 22 years ago.

He said he and his partner were looking to purchase one of the houses to run as a B&B.

“We were sort of just looking at House 3, the middle one, but that went above what we were envisaging,” he said.

“They (The Block) pick a good location, try something new. So, I like that they’ve always got the locations right.”

Joel & Bryce – The fashionistas

In head-to-toe designer labels, this pair was hard to miss in the crowd.

The couple, who recently relocated from Sydney to Melbourne, admitted they were more fans than fierce bidders.

They toured all five houses in the lead-up to the auctions and named House 3 as their favourite.

“We came here to House 3 and we just thought, wow, like you can really see this ageing so beautifully, particularly the backyard, like absolutely stunning,” said Bryce.

“You can’t convey a feeling on TV; as much as you try to, you can’t. It’s when you walk through a place where you get that vibe,” added Joel.

While the couple didn’t bid this year, they didn’t rule out taking an interest in future seasons – either as buyers or contestants!

Tiane Raupita – The woman in black

Back for another year after first popping up as a potential bidder at last year’s The Block Phillip Island, Raupita kept a low profile.

While she expressed interest in House 5 and House 1, she failed to make a bid on either property after making an early bid on House 3.

Mark Errichiello – The man in the blue jacket

After making his name as the decoy bidder for Adrian Portelli in last year’s The Block Phillip Island, Errichiello’s appearance set tongues wagging that Portelli may be about to swoop in and buy up The Block for another year.

While he was a feature at all five auctions, Errichiello raised his paddle only for the auction of House 1, going up against fellow buyer’s advocate Frank Valentic and workwear scion Ronnie Bassi.

Errichiello dropped out of the auction at $2.95 million, and the property eventually passed in on a vendor bid of $3.1 million.

Rumours around The Block site that day were that Errichiello was bidding on behalf of Portelli, who was thought to be on a boat in Sydney Harbour, but poor phone reception hampered their efforts.

Rocco – The man with the moustache

He arrived with a flash in a red Ferrari, but unfortunately failed to get out of first gear when it came to bidding at auction.

Rocco was interested in House 1, but after a couple of competitive bids, the property was eventually passed in on a vendor bid of $3.1 million.

“Well, you know, we’re in the market to buy something and end of the day you know, we had our reserve in our mind, and unfortunately, we missed out,” he said.

Mitch Duncan – The Farmers Arms publican

He poured plenty of beers for The Block cast and crew during filming, but unfortunately, no champagne corks were popping for Farmers Arms owner Mitch Duncan on auction day.

Duncan liked House 5 owing to the view and proximity to friends’ homes, but never got out of the blocks with a bid on the day.

“I didn’t know that Danny was coming, so I thought we might have been within a chance to be sort of up to the three million bucks there somewhere, which is where I was out,” he said.

“And the boys sort of walked back in with real deep pockets, so they can get well over, but it’s a great house.”

David Bromley – The artist

A Daylesford local for more than 20 years, Bromley will be familiar to viewers through the dozens of artworks adorning the walls of The Block houses.

Spotted in the crowd for the auction of House 5, Bromley said his interest in the property came via his relationship with agent Kim McQueen.

“I’ve done a lot of business with Kim McQueen, and I respect her immensely,” he said. “And, so I thought, well, if she’s got one then, then, with my limited time span, I’d come in, because she’s just a fantastic person to deal with, and she’s got great taste.”

Bromley said it was a nice compliment to have so much of his artwork featured throughout the show.

“I’m an artist who is very comfortable with popular culture,” he said.

“I make art. And it’s very nice when you see your pieces no matter what the situation. It’s just really nice to be part of a popular culture show. That’s not a cringe for me, I really love it.”

Ronnie Bassi – The workwear mogul

There’s nothing like throwing in a few bids at a Block auction on national TV to get your brand some free publicity.

Little is known about the Melbourne entrepreneur who built a labour hire and workwear business.

But his success was on show for all to see when he went up against buyer’s advocates Frank Valentic and Mark Errichiello to bid on House 1.

While unsuccessful in purchasing the property, Bassi still chalked up a win in the promotion stakes.

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