The makers of The Block are worried that this year’s season could end in auction disaster

The makers of The Block are worried that St Kilda violence, the housing price slump, credit squeeze and the massive scale of Grey Street renovation will create a perfect storm on auction day.

The makers of The Block are worried that this year’s season of the Channel 9 renovation show could end in disaster.

The gargantuan size of the triple-storey project, the declining house market, the credit squeeze and a raft of violent incidents in St Kilda are a perfect storm that they fear will hit on auction day.

THE FOOTY SHOW’S NEW HOSTS

RUMOUR EVERYONE’S TALKING ABOUT

WHAT RATINGS DON’T SAY ABOUT MAFS

Contestants of the new Season of the Block entered the site in Grey St St Kilda, at the grand old dame that was the Oslo Hotel. Picture: Nicole Cleary

Five sets of contestants entered the dilapidated 1850s Grey Street property this week and were confronted by rooms with dirt floors.

There is a level of fear in co-creator Julian Cress’s voice as he spoke of the massive hurdles that stand in the way of auction success.

One of the major ones is the sheer scale of the project — each of the five terrace houses will feature four bedrooms, three-and-a-half bathrooms, three living spaces, a media room and a double garage.

Contestants entered The Block in Grey Street St Kilda this week. Picture: Nicole Cleary

“The houses are so big we need to put lifts in — not to help the contestants but for the buyers to be able to live comfortably,” Cress said.

“Each home is the equivalent of taking Josh and Elyse’s house from Elsternwick (2017) and adding Norm and Jess’s apartment from The Gatwick last year.

“The amount of work required to deliver these to the level that buyers expect is beyond comprehension.

Josh and Elyse won The Block in 2017.

“We might have gone too far this time. Each room is going to have to be done in a week. We’re not changing the time frames — we can’t.”

Judge Shaynna Blaze has visited the Grey Street site and reckons there could be a flood of incomplete rooms this season — a huge no-no come auction day. Each team has a budget of $220,000.

“This season’s contestants are going to have to make a lot of compromises because there won’t be the funds to stretch the whole way through,” Blaze said.

“If they’re not careful with their money we’re probably going to see a lot of unfinished rooms — that is a fact.”

Shaynna Blaze is worried that the contestants on this year’s season of The Block won’t be able to complete their rooms in time.

But Cress is just as worried about the fallout from the banking royal commission with the major lenders savagely cutting back on loans to investors that have been The Block’s bread and butter.

The fact that the median house price in St Kilda has tumbled more than 20 per cent in the past 12 months also adds to jitters.

Scott Cam at the Gatwick hotel in St Kilda before that 2018 season.

The highest price paid for an apartment at The Gatwick was $3.02 million but the Grey Street properties will need to do better than that.

But it is the headlines around the rampant amount of violent attacks in St Kilda — including a chef attacked by a group of youths after refusing to hand over a cigarette — that could be the final nail in the coffin.

The Block’s co-creators David Barbour (left) and Julian Cress (right) with Scott Cam.

“Bad headlines are not helping the rejuvenation of St Kilda,” Cress said.

“It is a scary place to be right now but we believe the future is very bright so we’re just going to have to hope for the best.

“There is the credit squeeze so we could build five magnificent homes that lots of people want to buy but they can’t get the money from the bank.

“We need this series to go well to do another one. Channel 9 isn’t just going to give me a cheque to go and buy something else.”