House from The Block that last sold in 2024 resells for about $2m less
A house from reality renovation TV show The Block’s Phillip Island season has been sold for about $2 million less than its last sale price, after languishing on the market since February.
The house at 2/113-119 Justice Road, Cowes, renovated by husband and wife Courtney McInnes and Grant Freeman, first sold at auction in November 2024 to billionaire businessman Adrian Portelli for $3.3 million following a competitive bidding war between IT entrepreneur Danny Wallis and cafe chain owner Jacob Najjar. The Block airs on Nine, owner of this masthead.
Portelli tried to sell the home, but when it did not sell, he gave it away in a raffle.
The house returned to the market this year. Initially, the asking price for the four-bedroom home, which features two main suites, a pool, outdoor kitchen, fire pit and comes fully furnished, was $1.7 million to $1.85 million. It then dropped to $1.295 million before selling, price withheld, by private treaty on September 10, 2026.
Listing agent Camille Morris from Stockdale and Leggo Phillip Island declined to comment on the sale.
It was unclear if the vendor’s price hopes were achieved.
It comes as the winning house from the season, House 1 at 1/113-119 Justice Road, has also just hit the market for about $2 million less than what Portelli paid for it.
Sisters Maddy and Charlotte’s four-bedroom showpiece is listed with a guide of $1.4 million to $1.5 million, which listing agent Leanne Williams from Harcourts Coast & Lifestyle said is great value for money.
“It’s excellent value for money in a market that is a little soft, where it’s still important to not buy the cheapest property, but the best,” she said.
Williams said the owners have already rejected a written offer only 10 days after the home went on the market.
“Vendors have flatly refused it – there is a great deal of interest in [the house], only glowing positive feedback of it and what it offers,” she said. “It can be an intergenerational home, you can use part of it as an Airbnb, a home consulting suite – it’s an opportunity for people to buy a piece of history.”
Portelli listed all five homes for sale as a compound last June, but after failing to sell, he announced he would give them away to five competition winners. He gave them away in November 2024.
The property, which has been marked online as price withheld, sold by private treaty on September 10, 2026, a sold sticker on the listing shows.
It is the third time a house from the Phillip Island season has been put on sale, after House 4 at 4/113 Justice Road, Cowes, renovated by Cairns couple Kylie and Brad Baker, sold for $1.020 million in May this year, less than half of what Portelli paid for it in 2024 at $2.6 million.
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.
Ray White chief economist Nerida Conisbee said the prices for houses featured in The Block are already inflated above market value, and added that tax office crackdowns have also impacted the broader holiday home market.
“You can no longer rely on negative gearing benefits for holiday homes in the way people used to … authorities are cracking down on owners having to prove their holiday homes are actually available for rent during peak periods,” Conisbee said.
Local councils have also increasingly introduced restrictions on short-term holiday rentals to try to free up long-term rental housing, which creates operational friction, she added.
A shift to return to the office has also meant that the massive demand for holiday homes during the pandemic has abated, with people now looking to move closer to work.
“That said, Mount Eliza [the site of the new Block series] should hold up better than most, as it sits closer to Melbourne, [and] it attracts owner-occupier demand rather than strictly holiday-home buyers,” Conisbee said.
But Williams disagreed, saying that Phillip Island was gradually expanding its infrastructure including medical facilities, public transport and private schools.
“We’re seeing peninsula buyers come through – there are numerous serious buyers for the property,” she said.
Conisbee said while the top of the market – where The Block houses are usually situated – could improve by end of October when they go to auction, another interest rate hike could affect the results.
“Market conditions could start to recover slightly by then – we’ve seen minor improvements over recent months – but another interest rate hike could really disrupt things,” she said.
“It really is going to be fascinating to watch, especially considering how severely those Phillip Island homes dropped in value.”
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