The Block auctions: Who are the people that bid at The Block auctions every year

For 13 or so weeks each year, the stars of The Block are the contestants who work their fingers to the bone to complete the stunning renovations. 

Over the show’s 20 seasons there has become a rotating cast of familiar faces that tend to pop up, alongside a new face or two, every year to try their luck on auction day. 

While some – usually those with very deep pockets – have proven more successful than others, often the more familiar faces in the crowd, the more buoyed the contestants feel about their prospects.  

This season’s auction ended up being dominated by billionaire and prolific Block buyer Adrian Portelli, but  there were a number of new and unfamiliar faces that made impressive plays for the Phillip Island homes.

Here are the notable and new faces that caught our eye in the auction crowd on The Block auction day:

The retiring billionaire Block buyer: Adrian Portelli

He has said the 2024 season will be his last Block auction season and Adrian Portelli certainly went out with a bang, securing the keys to all five properties on The Block 2024.

Accompanied by his partner and baby boy, Portelli fought off competition early on from multiple other bidders, picking up House 2 in the first auction for $3.3 million and House 4 in the second auction for $2.6 million.

The AFR Young Rich Lister, who at points throughout the day strategically carried one of his new energy drinks, Flip Side, appeared to have no interest in House 5, which sold to little-known suburban buyer’s advocate Mark Errichiello.

It was later revealed that Errichiello was a decoy buyer, sent in to throw the competition off the scent of “Mr Lambo’s” plan to buy all five homes.

The final two auctions saw Portelli back at it securing House 3 for $2.7 million.

Then the day ended with a bang, with Portelli raising the bid by a knockout of $1 million to buy House 1 for $3.5 million.

You could be forgiven for thinking that Portelli was a fan of the island, but when asked if he had visited before he replied: “Just for the race track. I can’t say it’s my first on the holiday destination list, but it’s nice.”

The long-standing billionaire Block buyer: Danny Wallis

For the second year in a row, once-prolific Block buyer Danny Wallis failed to buy a property on auction day.

Apart from kicking off the action at the first auction of the day (House 2) with a bid of “$2 million minus four cents”, his trademark bidding style hardly made an appearance.

Speaking to Domain after the auction he confirmed he had come with the intention of buying one or two properties but his plan fell apart very quickly.

“That was the weirdest auctions I’ve ever seen,” he said. Asked what he thought of the pricing, he replied bluntly: “It was Adrian’s pricing.”

So could we expect to see Wallis borrow a page from Portelli’s book next year? 

“I don’t compete against billionaires,” he said. 

Lucky for him, The Block billionaire is unlikely to be there.

The new wealthy Block bidder with cash to burn: Jacob Najjar of Thirsty Monkey

A newcomer to The Block, the owner of acai cafe chain Thirsty Monkey and well-known TikTok star Jacob Najjar had an immediate impact on this year’s auctions.

With his sights set firmly on House 2, he gave big-bidding Portelli a run for his money, even trying his own knock-out bid of $650,000. But it wasn’t to be.

Unlike Portelli, Najjar, along with his wife, is a loyal fan of the TV show.

“We watch [The Block] daily. That’s our down time,” he said. 

“We’ll have a chat, have a disagreement over who likes which room – so we do our own judging.

“This is the first year me and my wife have agreed on something. So it was time for us to do something.”

When asked if he was surprised by how much House 2 sold for, Najjar replied he wasn’t.

“I actually thought it was going to go a bit higher. I’m kicking myself now,” he said.

The decoy bidder in the check coat: Mark Errichiello

The second of our new faces to have a big impact on the day was buyer’s advocate Mark Errichiello, who appeared to have a client keen on securing at least one of the Island Cove Villa properties.

Known as bidder No. 24, he tick-tacked with other bidders on houses 4 and 3 before eventually dropping out of the race.

It was the auction of House 5 when he finally came out on top after fighting off four other bidders, winning Kristian and Mimi’s property for $2.93 million.

At the conclusion of all the auctions, it was revealed his client was actually Portelli.

So, why did a billionaire need someone to buy his home on his behalf?

“Who knows how it would have worked out if he [Portelli] was just there on his own, buying them all?” Errichiello asked. “Others may have competed with him a little bit more vigorously at times.”

The woman in the black cap: Tiane Raupita

Having flown in from Singapore with her young daughter and making the trip to Phillip Island that morning, Tiane Raupita had her heart set on House 2.

“I loved Courtney and Grant’s style,” she said. “The ‘Moditerranian’ really resonates with the feel that I like when it comes to a holiday home.” 

After being outbid, she tried her luck again at House 3, House 4 and House 5 but missed out on all three.

When asked if she was a fan of the show she admitted, “No, not really,” but said it was the quality and style of House 2, along with the unique amenities that drew her to bid.

“I think Phillip Island is part of the coast that is really developing at the moment,” she said.

“This is really special to have the communal areas, to have the spa, to be able to go away on holiday and have the options to utilise the communal spaces – you don’t have that any where on the coast.” 

Bidder No. 27: Stavros Ambatzidis

The second new buyer’s advocate to enter the fray this year was bidder No. 27, Stavros Ambatzidis.

Wearing distinctive shades, he made multiple bids on House 4 at the direction of a client on the phone, only to have Portelli come in over the top at the final second.  

Ambatzidis took another crack at House 5, again with many a hushed conversation behind the paddle, but once again lost out, this time, though, to fellow newcomer bidder No. 24.

While he didn’t walk away with a win for his clients, it wasn’t all bad news. His agency, OBrien Real Estate, was the listing agent for Maddy and Charlotte’s house. They ended the day on top, so there was that to celebrate.

This article is brought to you by Snooze. It’s amazing what 50 years of Snooze can do.