Even a huge sum of money couldn’t sway these homeowners.
Has the phrase “nail house” ever crossed your mind? Well, if you’ve seen the Pixar Animation Studios film Up, you already know exactly what we’re referring to.
Nail houses are those whose owners refuse to sell their land to developers, sticking out like a nail in wood that cannot be driven in.
The phrase was first used to describe this style of home in China, but it is now widely used.
They are also known as holdouts.
Owners hold onto their land and refuse to sell it, much like Carl Fredricksen in the movie, sometimes because they think the price being offered is too low and other times because they simply don’t want to leave their property.
Like the Zammit family in Sydney, who have maintained their ownership of their land and have not given in to the lure of quick cash.
The Zammits don’t care that their property is worth an estimated $50 million, as you can see.
It was a land of cottages and farms when they first purchased the property in the Ponds, which is 30 minutes’ drive from Sydney’s central business district.
Every home was unique and had its own distinctive features. In the past few years, all of their neighbours have sold their homes to development companies, and identical new homes have been built in their place.
The area used to be “farmland dotted with little red brick homes and cottages,” according to mom Diane, who spoke to Daily Mail Australia.
“Every home was unique and there was so much space – but not any more. It’s just not the same,” she added.
Today, things are different. They almost have a castle-like home on the vast property, but they still don’t want to leave.
The property is indeed very large. It has a 200-meter driveway that leads to the brick house with a triple garage, which is surrounded by a lush lawn.
If the family decided to sell, it is thought that the land could support the construction of 40 to 50 homes.
“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.” Taylor Bredin, a Ray White Quakers Hill agent, told 7News.
Bredin respects the family nonetheless for resisting the lure of quick cash.
The Zammit family is very secretive, and they don’t discuss their future plans, including whether or not they intend to sell the house for a higher price.
Similar nail houses have previously made headlines, including Edith Macefield’s 108-year-old farmhouse in Seattle, Washington.
The woman refused to sell it, but after becoming friends with Barry Martin, the construction manager, he was named as her heir when she passed away in 2008 at the age of 86.
The house still exists today and resembles it exactly from the Pixar film.