Victorian brothers expected to make $50 million on farmland bought in 1935 - NEWS.com.au

IT’S been just over 80 years since Edward, Garry and Keith Troutbeck’s parents bought a Melbourne farm that they promised would one day make their kids a “fortune”.

Back in 1935, the Troutbecks forked out 500 pounds for a 25 hectare patch of land in the Melbourne suburb of Mickleham, a 45 minute drive from the CBD.

With today’s inflation, it would’ve cost the Troutbecks $45,000 — still a bargain in Australia’s inflated property market.

But now their modest weatherboard home and sprawling dairy farm is up for sale and with a number of developers already eyeing off the property, the Troutbeck brothers are expecting a $50 million payday.

Speaking to 7 News, Keith Troutbeck said his dad knew long ago the property was a good investment.

“Dad said, ‘One day, one day you’ll come into a fortune but don’t sell it before you do,” Keith said. “It’s taken a long time to get there hasn’t it?”

The three elderly farmers, aged between 70 and 82, have worked on the dairy farm their whole lives but are due to close up shop and become multi-millionaires instead.

Garry said increasing rates on the property had forced the brothers to contact real estate agents to sell the property.

Despite being forced to sell, the brothers said it’d be difficult for them to stop farming.

“We’ll still be farming … further out where it’s quieter,” Edward toldThe Weekly Times .

The three brothers, all eligible bachelors, are also wary what their new wealth will bring.

“The women have come out and given us good advice,” Edward said.

“Be careful, all these young women will be after you, marry you for 12 months and say, ‘Oh we want our money.’ We’re not that stupid.”

The sale, which will close next month, is expected to fetch the brother at least $15 million each, a figure Edward initially thought was a “joke”.

“Forty five years I’ve been playing Tatts Lotto and never hit the jackpot,” he said.

“I thought it was a joke at the start but it’s starting to sink home now.”

The expansion of Melbourne has finally caught up with the quiet Mickleham property with the suburb of Craigieburn sitting just down the road.

When sold, developers are expected to divide the land up into hundreds of residential plots for first homebuyers.

Source: https://www.news.com.au/news/victorian-brothers-expected-to-make-50-million-on-farmland-bought-in-1935/news-story/d29a369407205c1295012d492978e06b