All that effort doesn’t always go rewarded.

Not everyone walks away from The Block richer. Credit: Channel Nine

With The Block auctions just days away, it’s anyone’s guess as to who will walk away with a fat wad of cash and who will head home with their tail between their legs. In between all of the drama and meltdowns, the 2024 Blockheads have somehow managed to complete their houses on Philip Island and they will now go under the hammer on Sunday night’s finale episode.

The Block 2023 saw best mates Omar and Oz from Western Sydney take out the win, walking away with a jaw-dropping profit of $1,586,666 after Danny Wallis and Adrian Portelli got into a bidding war. But it’s not all profits on Australia’s favourite renovation show.

2023 couple Leah and Ash decided to pass their property in at auction, walking away with nothing.

They finally sold their Charming St house this year after almost four months of uncertainty. The Queensland couple sold House 2 for $3.125 million, giving them a tidy profit of $155,000 with Leah exclusively telling Yahoo Lifestyle, that they were feeling “very grateful and proud”.

“It was always our aim to create a really special and unique home for a buyer who would truly appreciate it,” she shared. “There’s no sweeter feeling than pouring your blood sweat and tears into something and having someone fall in love with the end product.”

The biggest-ever profit on The Block was made last year by Omar and Oz, who earned $1,586,666 over the reserve price. Photo: Nine

2022 contestants pass in their properties

In 2022, Tom and Sarah-Jane had a disappointing auction result when their house sold for $4,100,000.99, only giving them $20,000.99 profit.

After that result, the remaining couples, Rachel and Ryan, Ankur and Sharon, and Dylan and Jenny decided to pass in their properties, meaning that they could see the reserve price wasn’t going to be met and decided to try their luck with post-auction negotiations.

While Rachel and Ryan were lucky, securing a buyer and a $169,000.50 profit on the day, the others had to wait until the show was over to sell their properties.

Dylan and Jenny who welcomed their first child together this year, finally managed to sell their five-bedroom Gisbourne property in February 2023.

It was then revealed in May that their home sold for $3.9 million, which was $180,000 below their original reserve price and $175,000 less than the highest bid they received at the action.

Other auction flops of The Block

But they weren’t the first couples not to make the reserve amount on auction day.

Two apartments in the 2004 edition of The Block didn’t sell at auction. Photo: Nine
In the second season of the show back in 2004, two of the four properties didn’t sell at auction, meaning Steven Starkey and Richard Sterry, and Matt Martino and Jane Newton made no profit.

In 2010, when the series was revived with Scott Cam at the helm, one of the four apartments, Cheryl “Chez” Gravina and Brenton Courts’ property, made no profit after failing to sell at auction.

Chez and Brenton’s top floor unit in The Block failed to sell. Photo: Nine
In the 2011 season of the show, only one property sold, Polly and Waz’s house, which meant the winning house also made one of the lower profits across the seasons, netting just $15,000 above reserve on their property.

Polly and Waz may have won The Block in 2011 but they only made $15,000 in profit. Photo: Nine
Being experienced on The Block doesn’t always help your profit margin either. In The Block: All Stars in 2013, best mates Mark and Duncan only managed a $25,000 profit.

“It was disappointing,” Duncan told 9 News at the time. “I dare say that the bloke that bought it, he knows he got it for $200,000 less than what it was worth,” he added.

‘Everyone was expecting a bit more’

In 2014, couples Michael and Carlene and Darren and Deanne, who were fourth and fifth in the auction order respectively, only made $10,000 profit on their properties. Considering Daz and Dea had won $30,000 off their reserve price during the challenges, and Michael and Carlene had won $20,000 off their reserve price, both couples were lucky to get any profit at all.

The Block‘s Clint and Hannah made $95,000 when their Elsternwick house sold at auction, a big difference to the $447,000 winners Josh and Elyse made. Photo: Nine
In 2017 after a few seasons of healthy auction profits, Clint and Hannah, who renovated House 2 in the Melbourne suburb of Elsternwick, only managed to secure $95,000 profit. Nothing to sneeze at but certainly not what the contestants were hoping for.

“As a group, everyone was expecting a bit more,” 2017 winner Josh said.

Scott Cam agreed that the profit for Clint and Hannah probably should have been higher. “Nearly $100,000 is good money… they deserved to get more, but that’s how the hammer fell on the day,” he said on the show.