Fascinating Timelapse Video Shows Family’s Stubborn Refusal to Sell Home

A timelapse video shows a family’s stubborn refusal to sell their home even as a suburb appears all around their property.

The Zammit family from Sydney, Australia have become surrounded by a new-build development even when they were reportedly being offered $50 million Australian dollars ($34 million) for their land.

The five-acre property home takes up a huge chunk of the new development, abruptly turning through-roads into cul-de-sacs, with homes wedged up hard against the home’s boundary fence.

However, back in the early 2000s the Zammit family was surrounded by open green space and their refusal to sell up has not stopped developers from pressing on.

UniLad notes that had the developers got their way then the family’s entire property would likely be a street with an estimated 50 houses on it.

“The fact that most people sold out years and years ago, these guys have held on. All credit to them,” local real estate agency Taylor Bredin tells 7News.

“Depending on how far you push the development plan, you’d be able to push anywhere from 40 to 50 properties on something like this, and when subdivided, a 300 square metre block would get a million dollars.”

The property has an enormous lawn with a 650-foot driveway leading to the brick home that has a triple garage. The property is about a 40-minute drive from downtown Sydney and has views of the Blue Mountains.

The family’s new neighbors apparently like the landmark house — referring to it as the mansion — and don’t want them to sell because they like living in a cul-de-sac.

Mother Diane Zammit, 50, told Daily Mail Australia that the neighborhood used to be “farmland dotted with little red brick homes and cottages”.

“Every home was unique and there was so much space – but not anymore. It’s just not the same,” she added.

The story is reminiscent of Edith Macefield from Seattle who turned down an offer of $1 million for her home by a commercial development firm.

A huge development was built around the 108-year-old farmhouse where Macefield died at age 86 in 2008. Her story is said to have inspired the Disney-Pixar hit movie Up.