House where Banksy’s ‘Aachoo!’ mural appeared overnight ‘could now be worth £5MILLION’: Owner of £300,000 Bristol home pulls out of sale at the eleventh hour as art experts say value will soar
The owners of a Bristol home where a new Banksy mural has appeared have pulled out of the the sale at the 11th hour after it emerged the property could now be worth £5million.
Aileen Makin, 57, owns the £300,000 property which could now see its value skyrocket because of the artwork.
She was due to exchange contracts next week, but decided against the move after the street artist confirmed the work painted on the side of her home was his, ITV reports.
A Banksy expert estimates the artwork could add up to £5million in value to the blue-painted property.
Aileen Makin, 57, owns the £300,000 Bristol property and has now pulled out of its sale at the 11th hour after a Banksy artwork appeared on the side of her home on Thursday, which could now see its value skyrocket
The piece, entitled ‘Aachoo!!’, was first discovered on the external wall of the semi-detached property on Thursday morning
‘The ‘Aachoo!!’ artwork appeared overnight on the side of Aileen’s Park Street house which sits alongside Vale Street in Totterdown – England’s steepest road – on December 10.
The image appears to show a pensioner whose sneeze is knocking over buildings, an effect created by spraying it on the side of the house.
The piece was first discovered on the external wall of Aileen’s semi-detached property on Thursday morning.
Joe Syer, the founder of MyArtBroker, said: ‘Street art pieces are not sold with authentication by Pest Control – Banksy’s authentication body, however with the right provenance in place we’d estimate this to be worth in the region of 3-5 million pounds.
Aileen’s £300,000 property could see its value skyrocket as Banksy’s work often sell for millions
The family have now put perspex over the artwork, which shows a pensioner’s dentures flying out as she sneezes, to protect it
Aileen’s son Nick Makin (pictured) confirmed he would be speaking to security firms today about how to keep it safe and what to do now
Aileen’s son Nick Makin told ITV Westcountry people had begun climbing over the house while he slept last night, to get the best look at the new work.
He said the family had now put perspex over the artwork to protect it, and confirmed he would be speaking to security firms today about how to keep it safe and what to do now.
He added that his mother is quite distressed by all the attention and they will take time to consider what to do next.
The comic artwork shows a woman wearing a headscarf and holding a handkerchief, bending over while sneezing – with the force causing her to release her walking stick and handbag.
Her dentures are shown shooting out of her mouth.
In an image released by Banksy, the woman’s sneeze appears to have knocked over a wheelie bin at the next-door property, while a man holding an umbrella is being blown backwards.
Banksy confirmed on his website and Instagram page on Thursday afternoon that the piece is his work.
It shows a woman wearing a headscarf and holding a handkerchief, bending over while sneezing – with the force causing her to release her walking stick and handbag
Vale Street is said to be the steepest in England, with its 22-degree gradient put to use during annual Easter Sunday egg-rolling competitions.
Fred Loosmore, 28, a furniture maker who rented a room in the house until recently, said: ‘When we lived here so many people would come, especially on bikes and stuff because they were trying to do the challenge up the hills. It’s a great spot.
‘The artwork is so nice. It’s so relevant, isn’t it?’