The reserve prices determine how much The Block 2025 houses need to sell for — and ultimately, how much profit the contestants take home. But do the bonus prizes they’ve won throughout the season have any impact on that number?
With the auctions just around the corner, The Block teams are still waiting to find out their official reserve prices. However, the price guides released earlier in the season have given an indication of what they might be.
The official price guides on the real estate website Domain, where all five properties are listed, have been priced between $3 million and $3.3 million.
This year, all of the houses originally had the same floor plan, suggesting that they’d have the same reserve. However, there have been some additional additions, such as a wine cellar by both Robby and Mat, as well as Emma and Ben.
Additionally, the contestants have won a substantial amount of sponsor prizes, including Mat and Robby’s $50,000 pickleball court and their $50,000 outdoor fireplace, as well as Britt and Taz’s win of kitchen appliances worth around $175,000. So, will these bonuses increase the reserve prices for the contestants who won them?
According to Emma and Ben, neither the prizes from challenge wins nor the extra rooms will affect the reserve prices.
“No, it doesn’t, that’s what we’ve been told,” Ben told Chattr.
“It might be a different story this week when we find out the auction reserve,” Emma added. “But, so far, we’ve been told that all the reserves are the same because they go off the original floor plan of the house design.”
What order would Ben and Emma want to go in The Block auction?
Each year, the contestants clash over auction order, often arguing that the house tipped to make the biggest profit should go first to set the tone for the day. Going last in the auctions is often considered a strong placement, too, because buyers who’ve missed out earlier might get more competitive.
The order for the 2025 auction orders hasn’t been decided yet, and Emma and Ben told Chattr they’re still trying to decide which spot would be ideal for them.
“We’re still discussing that,” Ben explained. “We’ve discussed it with our agent, and he’s still a little bit on the fence about whether he wants to go higher or lower [in the order]. We’ve got a couple more days to work it out.”
Emma added that she and Ben wanted to work out the order with their fellow contestants.
“On one of the [Block] getaways. We spoke to Scotty about it, and he said that it’s been won and lost from every position. So he didn’t say there was an advantage going first or last or I don’t know.
“I think it’s something we need to put a bit more thought into as well. We have been thinking about it, but even more so, have put some thought into it with our real estate and chat to our neighbours and see where everyone wants to go.”
No wonder fans are calling Emma and Ben the sweetest pair The Block has ever seen.
The Block auction airs on October 26th on Channel 9 and 9Now.
Want to CHATTR with us? Follow us on Instagram, Facebook and TikTok for more entertainment news.
