When the cameras stop rolling: lessons from The Block for profitable bush retreats

The big reveals are finished, auction day came and went, yet despite the attention of millions of viewers, two houses on The Block are still for sale weeks after the show’s finale.

Australia’s most popular home renovation show saw this year’s contestants strive to build the perfect rural townhouse in Daylesford, two hours’ drive from Melbourne.

While many aspects of the show rankle with property professionals, it can deliver a timely message on what to do and what to avoid.

Those lessons should be absorbed by any investor or renovator seeking to create the perfect bush retreat.

As two of this year’s couples found out, ignoring the golden rules of bush retreats can leave you with a cold, empty feeling when it comes time to sell.

Styling fit for market

This year’s fan favourites, Britt and Taz, managed to sell their house and earn themselves a profit of $420,000.

That is pretty good going. When we look at the interior concepts they came up, it is fair to say this couple were able to weave together their sense of style with trends popular in 2025’s market.

But getting that formula right requires some deft judgements.

Turning them into a winner on auction day can be quite tricky, especially when you don’t have an army of specialist tradespeople and consultants to help you deliver ‘the look’.

In real life, these subjective judgements are easy to get wrong.

The reality of this market is that it is dominated by older, equity-rich buyers and a few high income couples. The glamourous, money-to-burn type characters who turn up for TV auctions are a tiny cohort who don’t represent the market at all.

Most of the older buyers drawn to bush retreats prefer more conservative interiors and floorplans. They are much less likely to pay top dollar for this year’s fashionable look.

Land is valued

That brings us to another key criteria that tends to get lost on TV property shows.

The fundamental driver of capital growth in all Australian real estate markets is land value.

That means any investor looking to do a makeover on a country house has to ensure the land component of the property they buy represents fair market value, or they run the real risk of overcapitalising their project.

This is a test often failed by both TV shows and inexperienced developers and appears to have been missed in this year’s show.

The second task is to ensure the location has all the right macro factors in place to drive price appreciation over the medium to long term.

When we look at regional centres, the difference between those with all the right factors in place and others that don’t may escape the short stay visitor, but they add up over time.

Daylesford is a case in point. It has lots of positives - a picturesque tourist town with hot spas and a thriving art, antiques and craft trade within reasonable driving distance of a major city.

That has made it popular with retirees, as well as artists and food business operators keen to leverage the centre’s visiting trade.

But what it doesn’t have is a solid public transport option - there is no train service - and the town’s population is skewed toward retirees and is shrinking.

This is one of the reasons why Daylesford’s capital growth (-7.3 per cent in the year to June 2025, according to the REIV) hasn’t performed as well as some other centres in the Hepburn region, like Malmsbury (6.7 per cent) and Creswick (8.0 per cent).

Privacy pays

Then there’s one of the more stunning misses from this year’s show.

Few people spend three million dollars plus on bush retreat only to look out at another house just a few metres away.

For anyone looking to make money from a country house build or makeover, the golden rule is that privacy is a non-negotiable element of any successful venture.

The allure of a bush retreat is one where the owner can get away from the hubbub of the city, leaving noise and neighbours behind.

That means avoiding lots that back onto highways (another Block fail) or where neighbouring properties are within plain sight and earshot.

With bush setting projects, you would want to be a little removed (yet not too far away from) the town centre.

Most importantly, your property needs unobstructed views of landscapes with the only sound you hear coming from the morning’s magpies.

Property uniqueness

Another guide to buying a bush retreat is to understand the interplay between selecting a property with the right attributes but which also has its own character.

Even better is a property featuring a house with the ‘right bones’ that has the capacity for a renovation that can deliver a unique, attractive style.

While each of The Block houses had unique interiors, they also featured similar ‘H pattern’ styled floorplans.

In a limited market, you want your retreat to be unique, offering a lifestyle at home that has its own distinct feeling.

If your property is very much like the neighbours’, your ability to attract a buyer with $3 million-plus to spend is compromised from the start.

First steps for that regional property purchase

Buying a property and renovating it to a fashionable design can offer owners a wonderful lifestyle and capital growth when it comes time to sell.

But makeover opportunities also come with real challenges that can derail unprepared buyers.

If you want to make your dreams of a perfect bush retreat - that you can later sell at a premium - come true, start your project with some no-nonsense advice from a qualified, seasoned property advisor.

That advice should encompass location selection, a thorough property assessment and value appraisal, and importantly, realistic advice on how to renovate strategically to avoid overcapitalising and ensure your bush retreat makes sound financial sense.

On screen, a dramatic reveal can sell a house — but off screen, it’s the unseen fundamentals that determine whether your own project becomes a ratings winner or a costly flop.