is finally upon us! The twentieth anniversary season premieres tonight (August 12) as a whole host of new teams attempt to live out their DIY dreams in the hopes of selling their house to the highest bidder at the end. This season promises plenty of fun and drama (some have even called it 'MAFS with hammers'). Fans can also look forward to seeing some returning Blockheads such as Steph and Gian (2023), Eliza and Liberty (2023), Omar and Oz (2022), Tom and Sarah-Jane (2022), Ronnie and Georgia (2017, 2021) and Jimmy and Tam (2020).
While excitement is growing for the 2024 season, some viewers have called out that the "rundown holiday homes" the cast is set to turn into "luxury properties", were not as rundown as they were made out to be. "Before we start watching The Block tomorrow night, let’s not get sucked into the notion that the site was an “abandoned” derelict holiday village," one viewer wrote on Facebook. "This is what it looked like before The Block builders came in with their sledgehammers to destroy the kitchens, bathrooms and walls etc.
All for the drama. Don’t believe everything you see or hear. But try to enjoy the show.
" They also added, "Note: this is no different from most previous Blocks. They always destroy the houses to make them appear more derelict." The viewer came with receipts, adding 'before' photos of the vacation rentals at Island Cove Villas - which actually looked kinda cool, in a very 'Throwback Thursday' kind of way.
"Wow that's nothing like what the ads have said lol that place looked amazing. A little outdated but still clean and well put together. Thank you for posting," one fan wrote in reply.
"Wow! Looked really lovely. Wonder what happened to the animals," another said. "I’d love to see them renovate these places but not destroy perfectly good kitchens etc," another responded.
"That could be taken out and sold to people that can’t afford brand new." "Absolutely!," someone replied. "But they prefer to smash everything up to make the houses appear abandoned and derelict.
Sad." In a different online discussion, another fan said much the same thing writing, "Looking forward to it. Maybe not the 1st episode so much with the smoke and mirrors re: advertising the resort as deserted and run down, which certainly isn’t at all correct.
But really look forward to seeing all the changes that have come to fruition." "Totally agree! After knowing what a beautiful place it was to what it is being advertised as. But none the less this year certainly has more meaning," was one reply.
"Sad that they destroyed all this, just to make the show. But they usually do stage the start set up," was another. "I’ve visited the site several times including before filming and agree it’s sad it’s being depicted as rundown.
I will never trust reality TV again (not that I really did to start with or even watch much of it!) Land tax and stamp duty costs have exploded in Victoria which has put many investors off buying here," yet another person said. If that is the case then the previous owners of the dwellings at Island Cove Villas are probably singing the praises of Channel Nine and happy for the network to advertise the properties as rundown as they like. In 2023 it was reported that Nine had paid in the vicinity of $9,580,000 for the nine homes.
According to "the owners of the property, who purchased it for a modest $2,005,000 in April 2017, have returned a profit well north of $7 million in just six years...
more than a million-a-year." Meanwhile, despite pointing out the slight inaccuracy of the state of the properties at the start of The Block build, the viewers also expressed massive excitement for the new seasn. "Excited to finally see The Block Monday night" one fan said.
"Can't wait!", added another. "Love The Block so much, very excited," echoed a third. Hosts Scott Cam and Shelley Craft will be returning this season while real estate director alongside Shaynna Blaze and Darren Palmer.
Dan Reilly has also become the show’s sole foreman as wasn’t able to make the move to Phillip Island, although both Neale and Keith are expected to make guest appearances. were the winners of the 2023 season of The Block after their stunning home sold for a history-making $5,000,000. Their reserve was $3.
350 million which gave the couple a profit of $1.65 million + $100,000 prize money taking them to $1.75 million in winnings.
The pair now run their own business - Japandi Estate. kicks off at 7:30 pm on Monday, August 12th on Channel Nine. The show will air on Sundays, Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays throughout the 2024 season.
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