The Block 2022: A look back at the houses that didn't sell at auction

There is no doubt that going on The Block is a gruelling and difficult experience, filled with hard work and some heartbreak along the way.

But the contestants eagerly sign themselves up knowing that at the end of their incredible experience, they will have the opportunity to sell a house that they built from scratch, and even make a bit of money from it all.

But that hasn’t always been the case on The Block.

There have been a number of years in which contestants have been unable to sell their houses for above the reserve at auction, meaning they didn’t earn any money for their hard work.

With rising interest rates and inflation pressures, the current property market is looking grim and there are some fears history could repeat itself at The Block 2022 Auction Day.

Here’s a look back at all The Block properties that sadly failed to sell at auction.

• Virtual tours of The Block properties are now live on Domain. Take your own private tour of each house.

Chez and Brenton

Despite reaching just a few thousand under the reserve price of $880,000, Season 3 contestants Chez and Brenton walked away without making a sale at auction in 2010.

Overwhelmed by the experience, Brenton walked out of the room where he and his partner were watching the auctions, uttering a few choice expletives as he went

However, it wasn’t all bad, as the couple did eventually manage to sell the house for $970,000 after auction, earning themselves a profit of $90,000.

Josh and Jenna

Season 4’s Josh and Jenna worked incredibly hard throughout their season, but despite this, they still weren’t able to bids above their reserve price of $950,000 at auction.

The property was passed in with both Josh and Jenna remaining composed and optimistic throughout the process, despite their obvious disappointment.

The pair shed a few tears with their fellow contestants. But didn’t need to weep for too long as they did eventually sell the property out of auction for a cool $1 million, earning a profit of $50,000.

Amie and Katrina

Also from Season 4, the sisters’ home sold for exactly their reserve price at auction. This meant they couldn’t sell it out of auction for a higher price, and unfortunately did not earn a single dollar for their efforts.

When Scott asked the pair how they felt as they watched the auction, Amie responded their experience on The Block was simply a “waste of time”.

Rod and Tania

2011 was clearly a difficult year for property selling as yet another Season 4 couple, Rod and Tania, were not able to sell above reserve, with only $832,000 being offered at the auction.

Despite their loss, the couple were incredibly gracious in congratulating winners Polly and Waz, saying “there couldn’t be a better couple to win” the $100,000 prize money.

Their property did eventually sell for $922,000 earning them a profit of $72,000, and they also walked away with a Toyota Corolla as a challenge prize.

Ronnie and Georgia

With the contestants clearly learning form the 2011 auctions, there wasn’t another property that didn’t sell at auction until Season 13 in 2017, with Ronnie and Georgia unable to meet the $2,620,000 reserve price at auction.

After the auction, the property was passed in with the couple rejecting the final offer of $2,600,000, however at a meeting after the auction, an offer of $2,781,000 was made to Ronnie and Georgia, finally giving them a tidy profit of $161,000.

This article was originally published by Nine.com.au. Reproduced with permission.