Incredible photos show Sydney family’s $50million decision

The stubborn owners of a highly valuable piece of land in the middle of a new development are still refusing to sell, despite being paid up to $40 million plus for the block.

For decades, the highly private Zammit family has been the proud owners of a sprawling 20,000m2 estate in Quakers Hill, Sydney’s west.

The five-acre estate cuts through a huge block of the new development, abruptly turning thoroughfares into cul-de-sacs, with houses wedged hard against the house boundary fence.

It offers breathtaking views over the Blue Mountains with the spectacular Newnes Plateau visible in the distance, yet is only a 40 minute drive from the CBD.

But while all their old neighbors gradually sold and moved, the Zammit family persisted and refused to sell, despite being offered millions.

This determination was recently put to the test when it was reported that developers offered the family $40 million to sell and move, with local developers Bathla eager to finish construction work on the estate.

The Zammits are an extremely private family and have refused to discuss the offers they have received to move out.

However, the family has admitted that the land is unrecognizable since they moved 16 years ago.

“The farmland used to be dotted with small, red-brick cottages and cottages,” mother Diane Zammit, 50, told Daily Mail Australia.

‘Each house was unique and there was so much space – but not anymore. It’s just not the same.’

Stunning aerial photos of the home have emerged showing the vast changes to the area since the family moved in 20 years ago.

Incredible photos show the transformation of the block over the years, which was once surrounded by farmland

Developers gradually built up the surrounding tracts of land, but the intensely private Zammit family refused to sell

The house is now smack dab in the middle of a new development in The Ponds, near Quakers Hill, where thousands of high-density detached homes have sprung up

Melbourne-based buying agent Ella Cas, 22, said the lot was worth so much because it could be divided into 46 or 56 lots, depending on how conservative or “greedy” the developer was.

The average lot size in the area is 300 sq ft, each sold for approximately $780,000.

“So if it’s developed, conservatively revenue would be $35.8 million or $43.68 million dollars if I’m a developer in Sydney,” explains Ms. Cas.

“This doesn’t even include development costs, and you haven’t already recouped the $50 million you spent on the land.”

Neighboring lands sold for up to $239/sqm in 2012 – which would have valued the Zammits’ two-acre property at about $4.75 million 10 years ago

The buyer’s estate agent told Daily Mail Australia that she encouraged investors to buy land because as a house depreciates, land rises.

“It does 80 percent of the heavy lifting when it comes to capital growth,” she said.

Ms. Cas said she had met several farmers who bought their homes for “pennies” decades ago, then became millionaires and sold them 20 years later.

“It’s surprising they stay there,” she said of the Zammit family’s refusal to sell.

She said the minimum lot size has been reduced by almost half, which was good for housing supply and affordability, but meant people would have less space.

In Lalor Park, in western Sydney, the average lot size is about 550 to 600 m2, while the new housing estates in Quakers Hill are only 300 m2.

‘People want decent land so they can build a detached house,’ says Mrs. Cas.

Walter Nanni, a buyer’s agent with iBuy Property Buyers Agency, who probably got the family between $35 and $40 million

He told Daily Mail Australia that many families living in the Quakers Hill area were known for being ‘stubborn’.

In 2019, Mr. Nanni bid on a block across the street from the Zammit family home, which eventually sold to another bidder for $27 million.

Mr. Nanni made a bid on behalf of a client, a syndicate of four to five men, but backed out when the bid passed $25 million.

He said five or six siblings sold the lot after their parents sadly passed away.

“I realized the man standing next to me was one of the owners, so I shook his hand and congratulated him on the sale,” he said.

“He told me it would take them 10 years to sell the house.”

The man said his siblings had spent a fair amount of money on lawsuits, with his siblings unable to come to an agreement on the sale, and some felt they should subdivide the property or keep it for a while.

“Now we’re seeing double,” he said in reference to the $50 million offer.

“They’ve stuck with it for a very, very long time, on the understanding that the longer they wait, the more money they’ll make.”

Mr. Nanni said he knows the man who owns the surrounding blocks, and said he wouldn’t be surprised if he made an offer on the Zammit house.

“It would be like connecting the dots for him,” he said.

“He could connect everything together and turn it into a huge development site.”

The Zammit’s property is said to have more than five bedrooms and features a large triple garage for the family’s cars, including a classic Ford Falcon XR6, and a basketball court

The house sits smack in the middle of a new development in The Ponds area near Quakers Hill, where thousands of high-density detached homes have sprung up

The Zammit’s property is said to have more than five bedrooms and features a large triple garage for the family’s cars, including a classic Ford Falcon XR6, in addition to a makeshift basketball court.

The huge but neatly trimmed lawn takes about two and a half hours to mow, with the couple’s young son regularly taking on the epic task.

The house is surrounded by about 750m of fencing to hold back the burgeoning and ongoing construction work around them.

The house is surrounded by about 750m of fencing to hold back the burgeoning and ongoing construction work around them

Their very many neighbors have almost all moved to the area in the past year and have had little to do with the reclusive family, but said they were always friendly.

“I’ll wave to them when I see them outside and they always wave back, but I don’t really talk to them,” admitted one whose home directly faces the property.

‘I’m really glad they refused to sell – it means we have a cul de sac which is much safer for our children – and their large lawn makes it feel like we have so much space.

‘Our neighbors don’t understand that because the other houses are so close together. We are very grateful! I hope they stay.’