The Block 2020: How will the houses in New Street, Brighton hold up in the Melbourne property market?

The five houses renovated on this year’s The Block are set to go to auction in some of the toughest conditions seen on the show yet, but experts say their location in the ritzy Melbourne suburb of Brighton will attract buyers, pandemic or no pandemic.

Melbourne’s housing market has effectively paused during the stage four lockdown, with agents unable to show buyers through properties even at private inspections, as was allowed during stage three restrictions. Any inspections and auctions are online-only.

But buyers and sellers were set to become more active in the market once stage four restrictions ended in mid-September, Domain senior research analyst Nicola Powell said, placing properties on the reality renovation show in a promising position to sell.

“That doesn’t necessarily mean we are going to see prices achieving record highs, but we will certainly see more buyers coming back into the market,” Dr Powell said.

Homes renovated on past seasons of the show had sold in sluggish housing markets, she said, many exceeding price expectations.

“We’ve seen challenged conditions before for The Block, with homes being auctioned in the depths of a downturn and those outcomes have been robust.”

The 2020 season of the long-running TV show is set to air from Sunday night on Channel Nine, majority owner of Domain, and while there’s no confirmed date for the auctions, they usually take place in mid to late November.

A Channel Nine spokesman said the producers would monitor restrictions in Melbourne in the lead-up to the auctions.

“The production team will consider all options to secure the best outcome for this year’s Blockheads and all involved,” he said.

This season of the show will feature five homes from different eras – the 1910s to the 1950s – which were moved from around Melbourne to the site on New Street, Brighton. The homes have been completely renovated with period features in the original houses, and each has a modern extension at the back.

One drawcard for this year’s homes was their location, a walkable spot in a prestigious suburb, buyer’s advocate Nicole Jacobs said.

“Brighton has the beach, parks, excellent schools, cafes, the train – you’d be hard-pressed to get a suburb that has all of that plus some amazing homes. It’s a suburb that ticks a lot of boxes for a lot of people,” Ms Jacobs said. 

She said unlike the highly sought “Golden Mile” precinct on the beach front, the location of the houses was in walking distance not only to the beach, but to shops and cafes as well.

Ms Jacobs has been a long-time buyer for clients purchasing properties on the show, and said this year the houses were likely to attract owner-occupiers more so than investors.

“They’re in a suburb that people aspire to be in,” she said. “If you’re looking for a fully renovated home that you can just walk into, these are going to be very appealing.”

The bayside suburb 11 kilometres from the city is famous for its colourful beach boxes, celebrity home owners and exclusive private schools.

Houses in Brighton can fetch prices in the tens of millions – the annual median house price for the year to June was the third highest in the city at $2,617,500, behind Canterbury ($2.76 million) and Toorak ($3.761 million) according to Domain data.

Dr Powell said the suburb had seen significant price growth in the year to June compared to the previous year – 16.3 per cent – recouping all the ground it lost in the most recent downturn from late 2017 to mid-2018.

She said during the most recent Melbourne lockdown in July, views per listing in Brighton were up 20 per cent on the same time last year.

View The Block properties for sale

House 1, Harry and Tash: 364 New Street, Brighton

House 2, Sarah and George: 362B New Street, Brighton

House 3, Daniel and Jade: 362A New Street, Brighton

House 4, Luke and Jasmin: 360B New Street, Brighton

House 5, Jimmy and Tam: 360A New Street, Brighton

“What it says is that people are starting to think about their buying journey,” she said. “There are buyers out there poised ready to move on the right home when it comes onto the market.”

Brighton agent Nick Johnstone said he had already received calls from potential sellers keen to get onto to the market once lockdown ended, and many were looking to buy in the same area.

“There’s great amenities, excellent schools and it’s getting better and better all the time,” Mr Johnstone said. “They always say there’s gates into Brighton and once you close them, you can’t get out – people tend to stay here.”

However, he said the area also attracted expats living in the UK, US and Hong Kong who were starting to consider coming back to Australia due to the uncertainty the COVID-19 pandemic created around travel.

He expected The Block houses would be “well received” by buyers.

“They’re in a terrific spot in the northern part of Brighton,” he said “There’s a lot of pent-up demand for good family homes.”

There’s no word yet what the price point of The Block homes was set to be, but Dr Powell said if they hit a “sweet point” in price, it might entice a few more people to throw their hats into the Brighton market.

She said while the top end of the market – suburbs including Brighton – tended to be the first to feel the effects of property market downturns, there were always going to be buyers who just wanted a piece of the prestigious area.

“For those types of buyers, when you’ve got a suburb that’s really highly desirable, it often doesn’t matter what’s happening with the broader market, it’s actually about the home – that dream home coming onto the market – so that’s the type of buyer I expect to come out of the woodwork for The Block houses,” she said.

The new season of The Block returns on Sunday, August 23 on Channel Nine – majority owner of Domain.