My first impression of The Block's House Decider challenge in 2025

Indulge me for a minute as we take a trip back to simpler times.

It’s 2010 or so – The Block is on. I honestly can’t remember which season, but it’s a Sunday night after dinner. I’m sitting in the living room with my parents, siblings and childhood dog. There’s camaraderie in the way we chat during ad breaks, Dad’s clever quips peppering the episode until one of us kids tells him to pipe down.

Fifteen years on, I’m watching The Block again, this time for work and in the company of friends. Plenty has changed as the show airs its 21st season, which includes its 1000th episode.

Here’s what I made of it all.

The budgets are way bigger (even with inflation)

In the early seasons of The Block, there was no way contestants were getting six-figure budgets plus incentives like $10,000 per week for managing their money well.

In season one, contestants had $40,000 each. Using RBA’s inflation calculator, that $40,000 would be about $70,000 today.

This year, the first episode revealed contestants would get $250,000 to play with: that excludes Alicia’s cheeky exploits with Scotty Cam’s funds, after she bought communal seating for the Block caravan site.

The show, to date, has given away $38 million in prize money, which brings me to my next observation.

It’s sponsor city in the 2020s Block era

This season’s Sponsorship Village is a Block first – gone are the days of subtle product placement. I know, I know … that’s the world we live in. But every second sentence from host Scott Cam seems to include the word MG.

There are already sponsor memes circulating on The Block subreddit: as someone who grew up watching Mean Girls, you’ll find my favourite in this thread. (I don’t know if I can swear here, but you’ll know it when you see it.)

If nothing else, I don’t know if I could drink McCafe every single day. Go ahead … call me a coffee snob.

More building, less drama?

We’ve all ridden the reality TV wave. You get sucked into the edited storylines, the close-ups of shock and rage at the twists and turns of each subplot.

This year’s season marks a return to the show’s roots, but in my view, the jury’s still out.

Take Han’s meltdown over her and Can’s loss in the House Decider challenge. Did she need to throw a tantrum? Probably not.

But I can understand why she did. It is a reality show, and you’re seeing real emotions.

Everyone at our watch party was pretty excited when they got to the building part of the show – about an hour in.

It’s nice to see a regional town

Back when I watched the show, it was set in NSW suburbs like Bondi, Manly and Vaucluse, and, later, Melbourne suburbs like Richmond and South Melbourne.

During last night’s  episode, I loved being swept away to a part of the country I hadn’t seen. The stunning views and gorgeous weather had me ready to pack my bags and check it out sooner rather than later.

The Block cast and crew have brought plenty of energy and life to the area, which, like many regional towns, was hit hard by COVID.

Will Walton, principal of Belle Property Daylesford, describes the town as a “magnificent place to visit” with plenty of things to do in Daylesford.

Building experience optional

One thing that my friends and I noticed: a lot of Block 2025 contestants have renovating experience, but you wouldn’t know it from their job titles.

This sentiment was echoed when Taz arrived at the site and said, “No-one was a tradie except for Sonny. I was blown away that everyone was like, ‘I’m a geologist’ or ‘I’m a barber.’”

Sonny is a plumber with a superpower managing trades; beyond that, Emma and Ben have the most experience renovating. They bought and flipped their first home, a fibro shack, nearly a decade ago.

In the early seasons, contestants also had a range of occupations, including doctors, hairdressers and data analysts, with many going on to pursue careers in building and design.

The verdict: Will I keep watching?

I surprised myself: I’m hooked!

It turns out my love of reality TV – long dormant – is alive and well.

Some things never change.

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