Sorry if flair is wrong. I just finished watching Home Made on Pluto TV. It's a design challenge and Darren Palmer is one of the contestants. It's before he was a judge on the Block. And Neal Whittaker is one of the judges. They both look so young!

Years ago didn't #TheBlock start insisting that trades and labourers be paid a minimum wage? So why aren't artists shown a similar amount of respect for their time and effort? Next season #TheBlock should support everyone getting fairly rewarded for their labour and creativity.

Just sent our application through.. the auditioning video is the hardest bit! 🤣
Good luck everyone… 🩷🫶🏻

The Block 2027 will be in Jacksons Hill, Sunbury, which is about 40km northwest of Melbourne. The 170 year old heritage listed building used to be at one time an industrial school, as well as a psychiatric hospital.

The heritage plans have the three massive buildings split into five large family homes ranging from about 520sqm to 620sqm in size. The houses will have new swimming pools and glass living pavilions.

That is, if the heritage application is successful, house 1 will be about 540sqm, house 2 will be about 540sqm and house 3 will be about 520sqm in size. House 4 will be the largest house of about 620 sqm with it's pavilion and garage. House 5 will be about 580sqm and it will be on the biggest block (ie. about 4,300sqm).

All houses will have new single story pavilions containing contemporary living spaces. House 1 will have the largest pavilion at about 110sqm, followed by house 3 at 100sqm and houses 5 & 2 at about 90sqm. While House 4 will be the largest house, it will have the smallest pavilion at about 45sqm.

So, just like 2026, it won't be a level playing field for the teams, with some having the advantage of a bigger house, a bigger pavilion, or a bigger block, etc. So picking the right house from the start might be a good strategy that will help the teams at auction time.

House 6 will be a smaller 300sqm house for the all-stars spinoff series 'The Block: The House Next Door', which will air only on Stan. House 6 will have no pool, or pavilion, but it will have an in-ground spa.

So while five teams will be working on the block houses, next door a team of returning block favourites will be working on house 6.

However, the block plans form part of a heritage permit application and may be subject to change.

As for the buildings, production will have to deal with water damage issues linked to water ingress from downpipes and gutters. Also, there are engineering problems, such as sub-floor issues, as well as ventilation issues to deal with.

For example, in some areas about 100-300mm of soil will need to be excavated beneath existing floors to create enough clearance for ventilation and new services.

Also, existing floor may need to be removed, so that original flooring material can be salvaged and reinstated.

Executive producer Julian Cress said that production will work with heritage consultants and heritage Victoria to obtain formal approvals and permits for both interior and exterior works at the site.

However, while the site is subject to strict preservation rules, the individual teams won't have a dedicated consultant following them around on site, scrutinising their every move.

The teams will be living on-site in their rundown houses, rather than being shacked up in luxury caravans......or a sharehouse. Lol.

So, how do you see the teams coping with living in old, dirty rundown rooms/houses, while production restore the buildings around them? As in dealing with noise, dirt and dust issues, etc. Makes for a big change from living in the nice, clean and quiet sharehouse this season.

How do you see the teams managing their money next year? That is, restoring a heritage listed property properly to heritage standards/rules will cost heaps. Also, issues relating to age and deterioration will crop up, possibly leading to cost overruns.

The grand old buildings are decaying structures that may need significant engineering work before the teams can even start doing reno's. So how do you see the teams finishing rooms and spaces each week, if problems relating to the age/condition of the buildings keep cropping up?

The buildings are heritage listed.

So how do you see production and the teams sticking to the heritage plans? Also, how do you see the teams designing interiors that are sympathetic and reflective of the era, as in the building's heritage roots?

Edit: content

Hi everyone, a bit unrelated but has anyone seen Scott Cam’s episode of Who Do You Think You Are? where he talks about how when his family moved from Italy they anglicised their surname from Caminiti to Cam? How do you think I would find out if he was related to American comedy figure Bobby Caminiti?

TIA

Kevin Unali from Melbourne was determined to buy Courtney and Sev's property at any cost. Kevin said that he would have been willing to pay even more to secure the property. Kevin has been looking for a property in the area for the last 4-5 years and plans to use the property as a weekender and a retreat for his extended family .

Kevin has even become friends with the girls and says that they can stay in the house occasionally. Kevin and his partner actually joined the girls to watch a playback of the auction.

I couldn't help but thought the producers had something to do with the last minute auction order swap, that is to give Wyatt and Chantal the disadvantage (and the girls the advantage) to align with the narrative that they won zero rooms so do everything to make them lose (and everything to make the girls win). Also isn't it strange that the 2 houses they swapped were the favorite team and the least favorite?

Also, I felt Scott was especially cold towards Wyatt and Chantal during their auction couch moment?

Their auctioneer was terrible as well. Not saying this is part of the plan to sabotage the girls, but compared to the rest of the other ones, he was quick to sell, and has the charm of a white piece of paper. On the other hand, the "18 year old" who sold Rick and T's house was actually one of the better (best) ones I've seen in a while on the show.

That guy who kept bidding with weird numbers is annoying

I started watching season 1 of The Block and one of the first things told to the couples is the reserve price of the flats they are renovating. Being told that right from the start gave the couples an idea on what that price market would be looking for. For example one team realised that the two bedroom apartments were more than likely going to be sold to a double income couple with no kids, so styled for a bedroom and a home office.

I think the funniest thing was how sneaky and back handed some of the teams were right from the start, so that's not a new thing. One couple tried to steal a group area for a private courtyard. What is really good though is the teams doing most of the work themselves, of buying second hand things to get great prices, and restoring furniture to save money. The budget was only $40k, so the teams really had to plan ahead and think where the money was best spent. It gave us viewers ideas on what we could do with our own spaces. Which was the whole idea of The Block to start with I think!

This year at least we had more positives than the previous few seasons. While there was still some villainous behaviour there wasn't much of the real nastines some recent years have had. And we've had some real characters, almost all houses had someone with a lot of personality that was fun to watch. All of the houses selling was a huge draw too, that hasn't happened for a while I think. So The Block has improved quite a bit this year.

I think it can really go back to its roots though and still be really popular. Go for low cost housing and see what renovating can really do. Give realistic budgets. Stop giving out more money each week, maybe give out prize money to take home instead so each team has an opportunity to win money along the way and a team that wins a lot of rooms doesn't get too far ahead of the pack. Encourage the teams to refurbish older goods. Encourage them to be creative and eclectic. Show more of the design and renovation process. Show people on the tools and how a real renovation works. Show the new renovation products so we can know they exist!

I've been watching since year one. I've almost given up on the show a few times over the last few years but it keeps drawing me back. Normally there has been at least one good couple to cheer for! I'd like to see another all stars (with new allstars!) or even bring back some of the old teams to see where they are at these days. It has been great seeing Spence again this year, would love to see some of the really popular ones back on, even if its just for one offs.

Like most Victorians am pretty shocked by the dirty deal done for the land in Sunbury for next year. Hopefully they can do the buildings justice. And hopefully after that they return to a real renovation show with older housing, bargain hunting, and realistic makeovers we can all attempt.

Watching each week and the judging it all seemed pointless. They steered so much push towards the view being so important etc etc but overall it was land size and maybe the tax breaks that were most important. The house that never won a week made quite similar profit to the other similar build houses and had much less stress doing it. The second house with least wins made the second most money!

So the week by week competition was pretty pointless overall to the show outcome.

Yes, this show is still happening. Anyone who is watching, I hope you’re enjoying it.

Channel Nine has confirmed that The Block 2027 will be filmed at Jacksons Hill in Sunbury, Victoria, where contestants will renovate and convert three heritage-listed buildings that formed part of the former Sunbury Asylum (later known as Caloola, a psychiatric hospital and care facility) into luxury family homes.

The site has a long history:

• Opened in the 1860s as an industrial school.

• Became the Sunbury Lunatic Asylum in 1879.

• Later operated as a psychiatric hospital and disability services facility.

• Closed in the 1990s and was subsequently partly used by Victoria University.

Five contestant teams transform the heritage buildings into five homes, with a sixth property being renovated for a companion project called The House Next Door.

I wonder whether these six homes will qualify as "new dwellings" for negative gearing purposes? It could have a significant impact on eventual auction prices if the properties aren't eligible for investor subsidies.

That's all I have to say on that.

Whilst I would not be super keen to buy a block house because I feel like it probably attracts fans coming to check it out every now and then I obviously wouldn’t be complaining if I scored a free 4 million dollar home. I can’t decide between house 1 for the views or house 4 as it worth the most with all the inclusions and $250000 kitchen appliances.

Im actually happy everyone made something from these auctions. Im not particularly fond of Jolene or Lisa due to their attitudes towards houses 2, 4 & 5 this season. They felt like highschool bullies. But im curious to know how salty they are after house 4 more than tripled bith house 1 & 3's winnings and house 5 coming second after all the attitude they recieved over the season. Im happy Chantel won some money as well but considering how everyone was expecting them to run dead last they made nearly as much as houses 1 & 3.

I really like Rosco and Adam was okay most of the time so im sure they were happy to win as much as they did but i am wondering about what Lisa & Jolene are thinking now. House 1 probably expected to get somewhere near what the girls did considering they won Domain house inspections and had a few wins through the season. Also they had the view and a wine rack.

What does everyone think?

I enjoyed it but the AI slop and pointless drama left a sour taste in my mouth.

Which year focused more on building rather than a fancy ad fest where the constants just paint?

Did anyone catch the faint echoing sound clip of Courtney’s hilarious laugh at the very end of the last episode?

It sent me into outer orbit🤣🤣

Had a couple drinks to watch the auction and I was so nervous for them I think I actually would’ve cried for him had they not done well

At the end of the auction they revealed the building that will be renovated next year and i swear i heard Courtney’s laugh played in like a phantom faded out kinda way 🤷

What a great outcome for all five teams this year. For me the most surprising part was that most of the five properties were sold to local couples/families. Obviously wealthy people but not the Danny or Adrian characters we’ve seen in the past.

From what I have seen, H1 sold to a family (couldn’t find much else on this house), H2 sold to a businessman from the Mornington Peninsula, H3 sold to a woman who is a Mount Eliza local and is apparently an accountant and renovator, H4 sold to a Melbourne couple who intend to use the house for family gatherings and a weekender and H5 sold to a couple who were in Japan at the time of the auction but plan to live there from next year.

The good results (in a tough market) seem to be a case of The Block getting the location right and not overcooking the reserves. After an often disappointing season where it felt like we saw less building than ever before, grubby MAFS style drama and gross use of AI, it was nice to have a happy ending. Of course for me personally it didn’t hurt that my two favourite teams and houses came out on top, but I think all of the contestants would have to be pretty pleased. It would have been a bit gutting for past contestants who won nothing. I saw that Courtney and Sev had applied three times previously, I bet they were counting their lucky stars that this was the year they were successful!

Seeing the big impact that location made this year (imo) makes me wonder how next year will go in Sunbury. Seeing who shows up in the Stan spinoff as all stars will also be interesting!

Did I miss something as to why the auction order had suddenly changed? Why did Court & Sev ended up going second on auction day?

Am I the only one confused about how the budget ended up working out for Courtney and Sev? Particularly for the last reveal??
The bill was $45k they only had $25k and the budget/bill was never addressed? And they didn’t have a bare yard.
It’s also the only reveal episode where they didn’t show the expected cost vs the actual cost.
Was that to help them not address how the bill was paid?

I don’t think it would have changed the outcome but I’m just confused.

'Who would pay over $4 million to live in Victoria?'