Were The Block Daylesford auction reserves too high?

There is a saying in real estate that goes: “Quote it low, watch it go, quote it high, and watch it die” – and so it was for The Block 2025 auctions.

The Block reserves this year were set at a staggering $2.99 million, almost four times Daylesford’s median house price of $820,000. With auctions stalling, awkward silences, and two houses passed in, many on the ground were left reeling, telling the media that the reserves were too high and out of reach. 

For the first time in The Block’s history, the reserves were announced after the contestants decided their auction order.

In the spirit of fairness, it was decided that the team with the most registered buyers would go first to set the scene on auction day. It was hoped that buyers who missed out would roll over to the other auctions, setting up every house for success. Deemed the strongest contenders, Britt and Taz were voted to go first, and Robby and Mat would be second.

The reveal of the reserve price of $2.99 million left the contestants, as well as Scotty, Shelley and Domain property editor Alice Stolz, in shock.

“That feels rough,” said Taz.

“It feels rough to me too,” said Scotty.

Alice Stolz said the reserves felt too high compared to what’s on offer on the local market.

“The sticker shock of the reserves was real for all of us,” said Stolz.

“It was out of step with prices in the area and also where buyer expectations were sitting. At the end of the day, it’s a salient if not unpleasant reminder of the absolute need to understand the local market and be in tune with how much buyers are willing to pay.”

After the success of the first auction, Scotty Cam assumed the reserve was “pretty spot on, but then it turned out the room didn’t have much money above three million bucks after that.”

Julian Cress, co-creator of The Block, told reporters he has no say in the reserves and agreed they were too high.

“I think they were high, we all felt that when we saw them,” Cress said. “Why were they so high? That would be a question for people at the Nine Network.

“I wasn’t even consulted about what I thought they should be. These decisions are made at a much higher level at Nine.”

Fan favourites and best mates Mat and Robby of House 5 came in off the back of a successful auction by Britt and Taz, who romped in with a $420,000 profit, but the increments were at a slower pace and soon fizzled out $3,099,999. That netted Mat and Robby $109,999 – just $54,999.50 each.

House 2’s agent, Kim McQueen of McQueen Real Estate, felt the reserves were too high, especially for the country town.

“We all think the reserves were too high and we’re happy to say the reserves were too high,” she said.

“It’s very difficult trying to sell five houses in a row at $3 million in Daylesford – [it’s] near impossible.

“The valuers engaged by Channel Nine, CBRE, contacted me and I spoke with them in depth on two occasions. They visited the properties to do their valuations and afterwards they told me they were going to value all The Block houses at around $2.5 million.”

In Daylesford, auctions are rare and the property market generally trades via private sales.

Domain sales reveal the highest sale in Daylesford so far in 2025 was at 17 Duke Street, sold by McQueen for $2.1 million in January.

Every contestant cited the reserve price as the reason buyer interest was so lukewarm and, for some houses, an outright fizzle.

Han and Can of House 5 suggested Nine should take stock of their approach to the auction reserves, saying that “there are lessons to be learnt from this year’s finale”.

The $2.99 million reserve was then a bust at the third auction of the day, Emma and Ben’s House 1, where bidding stalled below the reserve. It then passed in, following a vendor bid of $3.1 million.

“When we paused the auction, we knew we were very close to the reserve,” says Emma and Ben’s agent, Aaron Hill of Ray White Sunbury. 

“I’ve done this a long time, so it was about three years ago when [the houses] sold 10 or 20 over … we didn’t want to do that to Ben and Emma.”

With only two auctions left for the day and a sky-high reserve looming over the houses, Sonny and Alicia came out to bat with a straight-up vendor bid of $3.05 million.

Sonny and Alicia reaped the benefits of winning one of the game’s major prizes, which shaved $50,000 off their reserve. Their $2.94 million discounted reserve was the lowest on the day.

Their auction fielded only one $10,000-incement bid from Frank Valentic, but it was enough to get the couple a silver medal finish with a sale price of $3.06 million – $120,000 over reserve.

“The reserve is probably too high, I think that’s evident today,” said Sonny.

“The houses are only worth what people are willing to pay,” said Alicia.

Their agent, Tom Shaw of BigginScott Daylesford, said the high reserves likely scared off a few registered bidders who were in the room but didn’t participate on auction day.

“It’s a shame that the reserves [were] pretty high. I think that’s taken a few buyers out of the mix. We certainly had more buyers in the room today than [those] who participated, possibly because of the numbers,” he said. 

Four auctions in, and it was apparent that buyers’ pockets were hovering around the $3 million mark before auctions stalled or flatlined, indicating that buyers’ expectations did not match the reserve.

Han and Can’s sales team followed a similar strategic approach to Sonny and Alicia, kicking off their auction with another vendor bid – this time at $3.1 million.

With no bidders, their house was the second house passed in on the day, with hopes of selling post auction, above reserve and netting the team a cash prize.

Following their auction, Han and Can remained optimistic that they would be able to surpass the reserve in private negotiations.

“[The reserve] was super high for the area … the median here is $8[2]0,000 … but they are remarkable homes. A lot of people got a bargain today, especially with House 5 and House 4,” says Can.

Again, the reserve was perceived as sky high and not aligned with comparable properties in Daylesford and its surroundings, said their agents, Ashlee McKee and Natalie Fagan from Belle Property Daylesford.

“We felt the reserves were too high and did not reflect the market we are currently experiencing,” said McKee.

“Should the pricing have been in line with the market closer to $2.8 million, we believe we would have had a different outcome under the hammer.”

Julian Cress, co-creator of The Block, says auction day and the chase for the reserve are among the most nerve-wracking days of his year.

“There is no other day of the year when we wake up and feel physically ill when we go to work, and it’s not because we’re worried about the ratings … we just worry and feel sick because we become so close with the contestants over the production,” he says.

“So, it’s really bittersweet when your see a couple of coppers from the Pilabara with two kids make half a million bucks at auction and then see a young Emma and Ben, who just had a baby, pass in. That’s a tough day for us.”

As for the reserves, Cress, who sits at the helm of production, is not consulted on them.

While House 1 (Emma and Ben) and House 2 (Han and Can) remain on the market, Cress has no doubts they will sell.

“These are beautiful homes, they’ve been really well built and they’re in a brilliant setting in a wonderful town,” says Cress.

“We were putting in vendor bids above the [reserve] because we wanted to protect our friends – these contestants – and make sure they made some money.”

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