tv

Dave Hughes has been called out for making a huge mistake when buying The Block house.

Dave Hughes claimed he nabbed “a bargain” when he purchased Josh and Elyse’s property in the season finale of The Block.

A $3.067m bargain.

The comedian’s bid won the series for the couple, and set a record for the 14-season renovation program. But The Australian’s wealth expert, James Kirby, has suggested that Hughes has, in fact, delivered viewers a “textbook example of how NOT to buy a house”.

Based on the reserve ($447,000 less than what Hughes paid) for the five-bedroom Elsternwick home, the $1.79m median for the suburb, and a predicted average price growth in Melbourne of 10 per cent by 2020, Kirby speculated that the 46-year-old father of three may have paid “half a million too much”.

He wrote, “you don’t want to be known as someone who breaks records paying the highest price for a property — you actually want to be buying at the lowest possible price.

“It looks like [Hughes] has instantly overcapitalised on what he plans as an investment property.”

Home sweet home ????????????????????

A post shared by Josh And Elyse (@joshandelyse) on

ADVERTISEMENT

Kirby isn’t the only person questioning the purchase. Hughes told KIIS 101.1’s Matt & Meshel on Monday that his wife had been left feeling “slightly mortified” by the process.

Speaking to her husband’s KIIS drive show co-host, Kate Langbroek, Holly Hughes explained that she’d hoped the whole thing would remain hush-hush.

“The only thing I asked was, ‘If you are going to bid can you please just do it through an advocate so we can keep it private’,” she said.

“I didn’t think he’d end up buying it either.”

Hughesy with Josh and Elyse. Image: Instagram.

But Hughes has no regrets.

"In my mind, I’ve got a bargain. This was the best house," he told Domain.

“It’s a good street, it’s going to be a great street forever. Obviously it’s a lot of money but I just think that area is going to continue to improve, even though it’s already really good.

“I want us to own that property for 20 years basically so it’s a long term investment. We might move in there eventually but we’ll rent it out for a start.”

Former Blockhead Amity shares her home makeover tips. (Post continues below.)