Adrian Portelli says ‘goodbye’ to The Block ahead of tonight’s season finale

It seems tonight’s Block finale might be the last time we see Adrian Portelli bidding – but he’s promised he’s going out with a bang.

The Block mega-buyer Adrian Portelli has today teased that tonight’s season finale will be his “goodbye” to The Block – but promised viewers that he is “going out with a bang.”

The billionaire businessman has bought a slew of properties on Block auction day in recent years, including buying the two winning houses in 2023 and 2022, pushing both those teams to record-breaking wins.

But it seems tonight’s finale may be the last time we see Portelli splash the cash at a Block auction.

“It’s time to say goodbye to The Block and this Dummy Bidder is going out with a f**kng Bang! 7pm Tonight,” Portelli wrote on Instagram today, alongside a number of photos of him at this year’s auctions, which were held on-site at Phillip Island on Saturday.

Recent Block season finales have essentially been a two-horse race, as Portelli and fellow multi-millionaire businessman Danny Wallis battled to outbid each other across multiple auctions. Between them, the pair have purchased an astounding 15 Block properties in recent years.

Adrian Portelli arrives at yesterday’s auctions.

Worth an estimated $120 million, I.T. businessman Wallis had dominated The Block auctions for several seasons, snapping up properties after testing auctioneers’ patience with his unusual bids.

Last year, though, Wallis went home empty-handed as Portelli bought three houses at a total cost of $12.4 million.

Portelli bought last year’s winners Steph and Gian’s house for a cool $5 million, well above their $3.35 million reserve.

With a profit of $1.65 million, Steph and Gian shattered all Block records, winning the season and scoring another $100,000 in prize money. Portelli had also made The Block’s 2022 winners, Omar and Oz, instant millionaires when his winning bid delivered them an auction day profit of more than $1.5 million.

But The Block auctions can be far more brutal for those contestants who haven’t won the affections of either Wallis or Portelli: One disappointed couple last year scored a comparatively small profit of $65,000 for their time on the show, while much-loved 2022 contestants Tom and Sarah-Jane walked away with just $20,000 from their house sale after months of hard work.

Domain National Managing Editor Alice Stolz, who has appeared as a real estate expert on The Block across multiple seasons, said in a statement released by Nine last week that recent data in Melbourne has seen “house prices not just stalling, but going backwards”.

Portelli (centre) at one of yesterday’s auctions.

“Higher interest rates are wearing down buyers and investors due to recent Victorian land tax changes, and sellers too are up against it with increased competition,” said Stoltz.

She said that while it’s a “tough time for the market,” great houses that are “priced correctly” can still achieve good results at auction.

All five of this season’s Block houses, spread across a former holiday park in the Phillip Island suburb of Cowes, will head to auction with the same price guide of $1.7 to $1.85 million. That’s considerably lower than the multimillion-dollar price guides of the past few seasons, but also well above the median house price in Cowes: $765,000.

Tonight’s finale caps off a particularly tumultuous season, with two teams quitting the show and returning to their homes during the build.

Perth couple Jesse and Paige bailed on The Block five weeks into the season after escalating tensions between them, while Cairns couple Kylie and Brad made it all the way to the start of the last week before they went home after Kylie’s dramatic breakdown during judging of their final spaces.

Originally published as Adrian Portelli says ‘goodbye’ to The Block ahead of tonight’s season finale