Good Friday Appeal: Charity Home Auction Smashes Record!
The Good Friday Appeal Charity Home in Sunbury has smashed its previous record with a massive $1m sale at auction.
Nine parties vied for the keys to 12 Sacred Drive in front of more than 600 people, with the mammoth sale blitzing last year’s $903,000 record by $179,000.
Mickleham couple Sharlotte and Rami Ayoob placed the winning bid, raising $1.082m for the Royal Children’s Hospital.
“We’d been searching for a year and this was such a good package,” Ms Ayoob said.
“It was a really good experience and so great that the money is going to the Royal Children’s.”
The Ayoob’s got married just last year, and are excited to settle down in Villawood’s Redstone estate.
They also have other family living within the development, and are looking forward to Ms Ayoob’s sister being able to walk over with her two children and play in the park opposite the home.
“We didn’t believe it would go for those numbers, but it was still within our budget,” Mr Ayoob said.
“We were in shock to be honest.”
The three-bedroom home was completely donated by Henley Homes, Villawood Properties and more than 100 tradies and suppliers in Henley’s 30th year of building and donating houses to the Good Friday Appeal. They’ve raised a total of $18.23m to date.
Bidding started at $650,000, and quickly hiked in $50,000 increments from there.
Oliver Hume Redstone Estate agent Holly Cook said it took only 30 seconds for bidding to reach $1m, at which point the crowd “erupted into cheers.”
Bids then rose by $10,000, followed by a few of only $500 before the Ayoob’s won the keys.
“There was a lot of back and forth and the crowd were cheering, ‘come on, for the kids!’,” Ms Cook said.
“We even had a bidder who were the previous winners of the 2001 Good Friday Appeal auction,” she added.
Plenty of family fun was had at the annual Villawood carnival, where those who attended enjoyed live music, food and a sparkler show at the conclusion of the sale. There were also rides and activities for the kids and appearances from superheroes Captain America and Spider-Man.
The elegant pad comes fully furnished for the lucky Ayoob family to move into, including TVs, bedding, air-conditioning and a fully-fitted kitchen with stainless-steel Smeg appliances.
Each bedroom boasts a walk-in wardrobe and the main a spacious dressing room and stylish ensuite with a freestanding bath.
The backyard and outdoor dining area comes with a barbecue, half-court soccer field, built-in fire pit and a growing garden.
Real Estate Institute of Victoria auctioneer of the year Paul Tzamalis was at the helm of the epic sale.
Villawood Properties General Manager Victoria Andrew Duggan and Henley CEO Antony Blackshaw with Rami and Sharlotte Ayoob.