Your Domain: Two sisters sell their family home to two brothers at auction so they can be neighbours

When we’re young, we’re often keen to flee the family nest. But a unique auction outcome in Sydney’s south last weekend proved just how powerful the family bond can be, with the winning bidder purchasing the home to live next to his brother.

In a twist of fate, the sellers of the home, sisters Maria and Athena, who were selling their late mother’s home, also happen to live next to each other.

“They’re doing exactly what we’re doing – living next door to each other,” Maria told Your Domain. “So if the two siblings live next door to each other, it’s gone to the best possible buyer!”

The three-bedroom Punchbowl home belonged to their mother, who had passed away six months prior. It was held by their family for 41 years, and was where the sisters grew up.

“We had a wonderful childhood. We just loved playing hide and seek. The backyard was a playground for us,” Maria said.

“It’s never an easy process to sell a family home. Of course, to some degree, everybody’s going to have their own little opinions on different things. But we’ve all compromised,” Athena said. “It’s only a house, and the memories still stay with us,”

The campaign for the home had been a great success before auction. The property listing had been highly viewed, and buyers were quick to notice the land’s potential as a duplex site, with a wide frontage and with plenty of land to develop.

Auctioneer Tom Panos on behalf of Ray White Punchbowl was quick to rouse the crowd, singling out bidders to kick things off.

The first bid came in at $750,000 with quick bids of $50,000 from multiple parties soon bringing the price up to $900,000.

From there, smaller bids took the price to $990,000, which was $10,000 under the sisters’ reserve.

“She’s here to help us, in spirit,” Maria said as the sisters sat inside, desperate for one more bid to put the home on the market.

Mr Panos paused the auction, letting the crowd know they were just shy of the reserve. His advice to the sisters was to tell the highest bidder they needed to offer $1 million for the home to be sold.

Fortunately, the bidders were happy to bid one last time, buying the home for $1 million flat.

Selling a home is an emotional transaction, but for Maria and Athena the sale was all about saying a final goodbye to their mother and the home they grew up in.

“People do get emotional because it’s the final action that basically says ‘this is over’,” Mr Panos said after the auction.

“What people don’t understand is to the vendor, it’s a home. To the buyer, it’s a house. Until they take ownership, it’s not a home to them. To you it’s more than that,” Mr Panos said to the sisters once everything had been wrapped up.

Mr Panos said the result was great for the area. Both Maria and Athena, while nervous, were very pleased with the result.

“I’m pretty happy with the result, and I’m really happy for the buyers. Being two siblings that have bought it – I’m very happy for them,” Maria said.

Your Domain airs at 10am on Saturdays on Nine. Catch up on all episodes on 9Now.