One of the homes from The Block’s Phillip Island season has been listed for sale for about $1.5 million less than its purchase price, after billionaire Adrian Portelli paid $3.3 million for it in 2024 and gave it away last year.
The house at 2/113-119 Justice Road, Cowes, renovated by husband and wife Courtney McInnes and Grant Freeman, sold at auction to Portelli for $3.3 million following a competitive bidding war between IT entrepreneur Danny Wallis and cafe chain owner Jacob Najjar.
The four-bedroom house, which features two main suites, a pool, outdoor kitchen, fire pit and comes fully furnished, now has an asking price of $1.7 million to $1.85 million by its new owner.
Listing agent Camille Morris from Stockdale and Leggo Phillip Island said the home offers “a lot for your money”, and was “over-capitalised initially as part of The Block”.
“The finishes, the appliances, the furniture, the quality is probably worth more than what we listed,” she said. “But obviously Adrian did overpay, and that was prevalent in the last Block season in Daylesford – without having him around, that’s what happens [when Portelli doesn’t bid].”
Portelli, a Young Rich Lister worth $1.295 billion after founding LMCT+, an online subscription-based club offering shopping discounts and giveaways of cars and houses, ended up paying $15.03 million to buy all five houses at the TV show’s 2024 auction.
Adrian Portelli (left) at The Block’s 2024 season finale auction.
In last year’s season, which took place in Daylesford, two homes failed to sell at auction while two other homes fetched an auction premium of less than $150,000 each, a more muted result than the lucrative prices of recent years, when Portelli often bid large sums.
Ray White Phillip Island agent Yvette Tancheff, who sold House 2 to Portelli, said the first auction was very competitive.