Aussie TikTok star weighs in on Australia’s most controversial property: ‘It’s insane!’

A TikTok star has praised a family for refusing to sell their multimillion-dollar plot of land to developers so it could be turned into rows and rows of boring, almost identical homes.

The Zammit family made headlines around the world after images emerged of their property featuring an expansive lawn in Quakers Hill, western Sydney, surrounded by newly built homes.

Interest in the area skyrocketed in the 2000s, leading developers to purchase plots of land to develop a suburb now known as The Ponds.

Although the 20,000-square-foot Zammit property and Windsor Castle-style home are estimated to be worth around $60 million, the family continues to resist offers from eager investors.

Matt Van Biljon, 19, grew up in the area and remembers when it was all “farmland.”

He described the “rows and rows” of houses that have sprung up around the Zammit site over the past 15 years as “crazy.”

“I grew up seeing this area change. It’s insane,” he captioned his TikTok video.

Mr Van Bijon also remembers the smell of ‘chicken farms and cows’ when he drove to school as a child. which quickly disappeared when redevelopment of the area began.

“I think a large part of the original population doesn’t even live there anymore,” he said news.com.au.

“I left that school and didn’t go to that area very often. I drove past it every now and then and every time I just couldn’t believe the changes, it was crazy.”

The teenager was “sad” at the sudden change to tightly packed houses at the expense of farmland, sad and that “other people feel the same way I do”.

Mr Van Bijon’s TikTok clip has since gone viral with 4.3 million views.

Many viewers supported the Zammits because they weren’t selling.

“I’d rather have a house with square footage than $60 million,” one person wrote.

Others called the surrounding new homes “so messy and identical.”

“$60 million, tell them they’re dreaming,” one person wrote.

Another added: “If they can keep the house until the kids grow up, the house could be worth as much as $120 million in the long run.”

With an estimated 50 homes that could be built on the Zammit property, developers have bombarded the family with sales requests reportedly as high as $50 million.

The Zammit family reportedly turned down offers as high as $40 million for their home after developers bought parts of nearby areas to build an area known as The Ponds.

Business cards from potential agents and buyers lined the front door, with handwritten pleas asking the family to get in touch when Daily Mail Australia recently visited the house.

Among them was local estate agency Cutcliffe, who confirmed they had yet to speak to the Zammit’s but were keen to discuss a possible sale.

Residents of the close-knit community said the family was quiet and mostly kept to themselves, rarely seen enjoying their vast estate other than keeping the acres of lawn perfectly trimmed.

But neighbors who lived next door to the Zammits said they had no problem with the family refusing to sell.

“It doesn’t really bother us,” says a neighbor.

“It’s their land, they can do whatever they want with it.”

A woman who lived across the street agreed.

“If I had that property, I would do the same thing,” she said.

“I’m with them!”