The eagerness (or desperation) of people to become homeowners for the first time has been highlighted by scenes in Hounslow last week, where buyers queued up over night, waiting to be the first to get a chance to buy a series of cheap, affordable flats which were to go on the market.
Affordable homes are hard to come by in London, even more so than elsewhere in the country, so people were especially eager to get in on the first come first serve deals with the new affordable properties from Galliard Homes.
More than 40 per cent of properties in Galliard Home’s west London scheme properties cost less than £250,000.
Last Thursday, it put 228 homes in Trinity Square in Hounslow on the market. All of the homes are either studio or one bedroom apartments, contrasting the blocks around it which contain two and three bedroom flats.
2,000 people registered their interest for the properties, but there were only 228 available. This, and the fact they were on offer on a first come first serve basis, led to a reported nine people camping out over night in order to be first in the queue when the flats went on the market at 5pm. The queue soon built up through the day.
It shows that there are plenty of people waiting to jump into the market, and will go the extra mile to get their hands on anything that will allow them access that market.
With a bigger focus on one bedroom flats and apartments, building firms will be almost guaranteed to sell, as long as they are priced accordingly: people are seemingly willing to go for smaller properties if it means they will be able to actually afford a place to live.
The housing market is difficult, and any scrap or leg up onto the property ladder is much sought after. When the supply of affordable housing rises, there will be places for people to buy and these mass-stampede like desperate attempt to get homes will be alleviated.
