The Sydney Morning Herald
· collected 2026-09-17 · by Caroline Zielinski
A house from The Block’s Phillip Island season, initially sold for $3.3 million in November 2024 to billionaire Adrian Portelli, was recently resold for around $1.295 million by private treaty on September 10, 2026. This represents a drop of approximately $2 million from its last sale price. The property, featuring four bedrooms and various amenities including a pool and outdoor kitchen, had previously been put up for auction with reduced prices after Portelli’s unsuccessful attempts to sell it at higher values.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-17,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
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.
asserted
house → sell → 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.
asserted
house → renovate → Wallis
The Block airs on Nine, owner of this masthead.
asserted
Block → air → masthead
Portelli tried to sell the home, but when it did not sell, he gave it away in a raffle.
asserted
he → try → raffle
The house returned to the market this year.
asserted
house → return → market
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.
asserted
which → feature → suites
It then dropped to $1.295 million before selling, price withheld, by private treaty on September 10, 2026.
asserted
price → drop → September
Listing agent Camille Morris from Stockdale and Leggo Phillip Island declined to comment on the sale.
asserted
Morris → decline → sale
It was unclear if the vendor’s price hopes were achieved.
uncertain
hopes → achieve → ?
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.
asserted
Portelli → come → 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.
asserted
Williams → list → 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.
asserted
she → ’ → property
Williams said the owners have already rejected a written offer only 10 days after the home went on the market.
asserted
home → say → 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.
asserted
she → refuse → what
“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.”
asserted
people → use → 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.
asserted
he → list → winners
He gave them away in November 2024.
asserted
He → give → November
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.
asserted
sticker → mark → listing
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.
uncertain
Portelli → put → 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.
asserted
Portelli → found → 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 …
asserted
people → say → way
authorities are cracking down on owners having to prove their holiday homes are actually available for rent during peak periods,” Conisbee said.
asserted
Conisbee → crack → periods
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.
asserted
she → introduce → friction
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.
asserted
people → return → 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.
asserted
Conisbee → say → buyers
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.
asserted
she → disagree → property
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.
uncertain
hike → say → 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.”
uncertain
homes → start → value
The Aporia
