The countdown to The Block 2026 auction day is officially on, with host Shelley Craft confirming the reserve prices during an appearance on The Today Show.
While the exact figures had been kept under wraps, Shelley admitted it was “really difficult” to stay quiet after learning the numbers herself.
“I do know what they are… keeping tight-lipped about that is really difficult,” she said.
The host revealed all five houses have been given the same reserve price of $3.45 million, with an expected sale guide between $3.6 million and $3.9 million.
The announcement comes as The Block’s properties become some of the first to fall under Victoria’s new reserve price disclosure laws, meaning the reserve will be publicly available on Domain listings.
“They will have to reveal their reserves, it’ll be printed on Domain — you’ll see that below the listing for the world to see,” Shelley explained.
While Shelley joked that producers would likely be “coming downstairs” to give her a talking-to for revealing the figures early, she added: “We have to tell you next week anyway!”
Now, former contestants have weighed in on whether the $3.45 million reserve is realistic — and whether the five teams could all walk away with a life-changing result.
Emma and Ben say the reserves are ‘pretty fair’ for contestants
Former contestants Emma and Ben, who experienced the emotional highs and lows of The Block auction day firsthand, believe the reserve price is a fair reflection of the properties and the current market.
Emma exclusively told Chattr that she and Ben had discussed the figure and felt it wasn’t “too crazy overpriced” for the area.
“Ben and I were talking about this last night, and we actually think it’s a pretty fair number,” she said.
“We don’t think it’s too crazy overpriced for the area or anything like that. We think it’s fair for Channel Nine to set that reserve, but we also think it’s fair for the contestants.”
Emma also pointed out that publicly revealing the reserves gives potential buyers more certainty heading into auction day.
“The fact that they’ve told everyone the reserves means no one’s going in there blindly,” she said.
“All the buyers have two weeks’ notice on what pretty much the starting price is going to be.”
However, Emma knows better than most that a fair reserve doesn’t always guarantee a fairy tale ending, after she and Ben experienced the heartbreak of their own auction result.
“You just hope for the contestants’ sake that these five houses are going to sell on auction day,” she said.
“Obviously we know from our season, and literally what happened to us, that not everyone gets their fairytale ending. But that’s the nature of the game — it’s a gamble, and that’s what you go into it for.”
Emma said she would be “keeping my fingers and toes and everything crossed” that all five couples walk away with a win.
“I don’t want anyone to feel how Ben and I felt at the end of that auction because it’s just completely gut-wrenching,” she said.
“But I think it would be amazing if we see five houses sell, and five couples walk away with some cash on auction day.”
Another anonymous contestant from 2025 noticed the difference between the advertised sale guide and the reserve price compared to their own experience on The Block.
They pointed out that while this year’s homes have a guide of up to $3.9 million, the reserve sits almost half a million dollars lower.
“As an observation, it’s pretty bizarre that they advertised at $3.9 million and the reserve is nearly half a million under that,” they said.
They compared the situation to their own season, where contestants faced much higher reserves.
“When in our season, our reserves were nearly $1 million over market value,” they said.
Despite their observations, they said auction day remains unpredictable and wished the contestants the best.
“I wish everyone the very best for auction day as it’s very stressful and anything could happen,” they said.
“The Block is a wild ride, that’s for sure.”
Alicia and Sonny say the lower reserves could help contestants make money
Former contestants Alicia and Sonny also shared their support for the teams, highlighting how much time and effort goes into competing on The Block.
“These teams have given up 12 to 13 weeks of their time, plus the rest between filming finishing and now,” they said.
They acknowledged the contestants are entering a different property market compared to previous seasons, with changing conditions and higher interest rates impacting buyers.
“They are in a completely different position location-wise and a completely different market with higher interest rates,” they said.
“If listing below the sale guide gives them a chance to all make some money, we wish them all the best.”
With auction day fast approaching, the question remains whether buyers will push the properties beyond their reserves — and whether this year’s contestants will avoid the brutal auction heartbreak that has become one of The Block’s most unpredictable moments.
The Block 2027 airs Sunday — Wednesday on Channel 9 and 9Now.
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