With 17 seasons of The Block already under the (tool) belt, viewers might think they’ve seen it all – but they’d be wrong. The Block Tree Change promises to throw everything, including the kitchen sink, at this year’s renovators.
Host Scott Cam and the latest crop of Blockheads will be leaving the city behind and making a tree change in regional Victoria.
While there’s still much to be revealed about what’s in store for The Block Tree Change, here’s what we know so far about 2022’s season 18.
The Block will be in Gisborne in 2022. After renovating houses and a hostel in various locations around metro Melbourne and Sydney, the reno series is going country – to the picturesque Macedon Ranges – where contestants will have plenty of land to play with.
Most of us have heard about the large influx of people who have moved away from the cities and into regional areas during and after COVID, it seems the producers of the show are keen to cash in on the trend that has captured many people’s imagination.
Their task is to create luxury rural escapes on the massive 79-acre site at 207 McGeorge Rd, Gisborne, which is said to have been carved into seven 10-acre lots and has a creek running through it.
Did someone say biggest Block ever?
Regional Victoria’s Gisborne is the backdrop for this year’s renovations. Picture: Channel Nine
While the filming date hasn’t officially been confirmed, the application form stipulated that contestants would need to be available to start filming in late February 2022, for 10 to 12 weeks.
It’s understood the Omicron outbreak delayed the start of production on this year’s series.
Weatherboard homes, non-permenant dwellings and construction equipment have been spotted on site in Gisborne, so watch this space for more details.
We can’t wait to learn all we can about the new Blockheads, once they’re announced (watch this space), who will have their work cut out for them with a truly mammoth job of creating idyllic country homes worthy of multi-million-dollar prices come auction day.
It seems host Scott Cam, who will be renovating his own Block property for the first time, got in early with the intel on the contestants.
The longtime-host posted on his Instagram that he was having a beer with executive producer, Julian Cress, while they “go through the new cast”.
Idyllic Gisborne is a 45-minute drive from central Melbourne. Picture: realestate.com.au/buy
We can’t wait to see what the ‘humble chippy from Bondi’, as he’s known in some circles, comes up with for his renovation.
Have all the years hosting the show taught him what it takes to make a showstopping home?
We can’t wait to find out.
Back in September 2021 the 32-hectare property in Gisborne sold for a whopping $11 million, which is approximately ten times the median price of the suburb of $1.08m.
The listing describes the property as an outstanding rurally-zoned location just minutes away from both Sunbury and central Gisborne.
Gisborne is a 45min drive north west from central Melbourne, located in the stunning Macedon Ranges.
Yes, you read that correctly. Given it’s still The Block, as you know and love it, which is after-all a show about renovating the homes need to be pre-existing.
In a rural setting this means that instead of renovating homes where they stand, most of the homes need to be transported to the site ready to be given a Block-worthy makeover.
We know at least one Queenslander-style home has been transported to the Gisborne location so far, all the way from the sunshine state. There have been other dwellings spotted too, which join the one existing cottage on the site.
We can’t wait to see the transformation of some pretty epic country homes, and no close-by neighbours to contend with aside from the fellow Block competitors.
While, the official date of The Block Tree Change auctions hasn’t been released. But judging by previous years, it looks likely they will be held around November.
Based on last year, we think The Block 2022 will start in August. Sit tight for that all-important premiere date – and as always, we’ll be running recaps so you don’t miss a thing.
Applications closed for The Block Tree Change on 18 October, but budding Blockheads should keep an eye on the official website for future casting calls.
source: rea.com.au
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