News

CHANNEL 9 NEWS
6:11pm October 4, 2014

“Melbourne family set to become multi-millionaires through property sale”

This 108ha property near Sunbury is set to sell for $70 million.
Leith Marshall

A group of family and friends in Melbourne are set to make $70 million on a patch of land they bought for less than half a million dollars.

Purchased in 1982 for $300,000, the 108ha patch of farmland south of Sunbury was originally deemed “the middle of nowhere” but is now considered a prime housing development site.

The ten investors, which includes five brothers, told 9NEWS they were so poor when the land was purchased they had to borrow money for their deposit.

The site is made up of ten blocks, ranging in size from 6.25ha through to 19.59ha, and is almost the size of the suburb of Flemington.

Proceeds from the sale will be divided up based on the size of the blocks they own.

The hobby farm is expected to be rezoned to develop a new suburb, South Sunbury, where as many as 2000 properties could be built.

The extended family decided to make their move when they noticed the surrounding farmland was being converted into residential pockets.

A number of the owners are tradesmen aged in their sixties and seventies and the sale will make for a very comfortable retirement.

“For me and my wife … we didn’t have much holidays, because working hard, now we try to enjoy a little bit more than we did before,” one co-owner said.

The Croatian immigrants plan to make more visits to their home land, as well as sharing their good fortune with their family.

“I got a grandchildren, a little bit for them and a little bit for me too,” said another co-owner.

The property will officially go on the market next week.

Real estate agent Joseph Ngo said it has already attracted overseas interest from China and Sweden.

“They do have in the pipeline a train station, of course a school, a park,” he said.

If the land sale reaches the $70 million target, it will give the current owners around $65 per square metre.