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A Queensland-based agent has revealed that his decade-long relationship with Danny Wallis had an impact on the latest season of The Block.
Michael Ellis from Harcourts Broadbeach – Mermaid has explained how an encounter in the United Kingdom eventually led to his contribution on the hit TV show’s finale.
A longstanding friendship with eccentric bidder and The Block mainstay Danny Wallis, which has spanned two continents and over a decade, was the catalyst in the Queensland agent’s involvement in the infamous TV affair.
“I met Danny in London in 2011 when he was looking at real estate in the Kensington/Chelsea borough,” Mr Ellis said. Since then, the pair have curated a trusting, respectable relationship, resulting in several sales, including one of an apartment in 2020, which Mr Wallis “bought sight unseen” and culminated in the pair teaming up for this year’s The Block auctions.
“I have a lot of respect for Danny. He trusts me completely, and it’s the same right back.” He added, “great things happen when you have trust”.
Mr Ellis, who boasts over $200 million in property sales since his career began in 2009, was asked to come along to The Block auction weekend as an adviser to Mr Wallis, a role that resulted in him intensely researching the properties and strategies for auction.
In the end, Mr Ellis knew Mr Wallis “was going for three [properties]. We discussed this, he trusts my judgement, and we discussed the house numbers, which were always one, two, and five”.
It was the latter, belonging to Western Sydney best friends Omar Slaimankhel and Ozman “Oz” Malik, that caught Mr Wallis’ eye the most, primarily for its privacy from the other properties and its raft of facilities, including tennis and basketball court, sauna, and pool.
A bidding war for house five ensued, described by the properties auctioneer Tom Panos as critical to it achieving The Block record price of $5,666,666.66, the ninth property Mr Wallis had purchased from the hit television show.
Much like in previous seasons, where Mr Wallis donated his purchases from the show to a number of charitable organisations, including Ronald McDonald House Charities and My Room Children’s Cancer Charity, Mr Ellis revealed house five is set to be donated to the children’s hospital.
“He is very thoughtful like this. It makes sense to donate this because it’s away from the others and has all of these activities for the kids to play,” Mr Ellis said.
He added that national television success is not the only item on the pair’s agenda, with the duo potentially embarking on a development journey together.
Mr Ellis concluded, “to have known someone for a long time, especially a character like Danny, it’s much easier to go into business together.”
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