WE THOUGHT THOSE days were long behind us, where people queued up to buy houses.
It seems in Swords we are back where we started, with house hunters queuing for up to four days in advance of the sale of 60 homes at a new development called Miller’s Glen.
One house buyer, Megan O’Shaughnessy, arrived on Tuesday afternoon in order to purchase a three-bed house.
Getting in line
However, she is not the only one.
The queue continued to grow outside the estate on Glen Ellan Road, where people sat in line for two, three and four-bed homes which are priced between €240,000 and €400,000.
Duncan Smith, Labour Party Councillor for Swords, who lives just opposite the housing estate said:
When I heard that people were queuing four days in advance of new homes going on sale in Miller’s Glen, beside where I live in Castleview, I had to see it for myself.Whilst the sight of people queuing outside a new development brings back memories of the Celtic Tiger property mania which ultimately brought the country to its knees and devastated many lives, I see this latest example slightly differently.
Reasons
So why are they queuing up to buy homes?
Smith says there could be a number of reasons. He said that “six years of pent up demand” has created the situation in Swords, saying there is “zero supply” for people looking to get a foot on the property ladder.
Miller’s Glen is the first new housing estate in the area for seven years, which could also be a reason why people are queuing to get a house in this new development.
“Whilst the sight of a people queuing stirs up worrying memories for us, we also need to realise that unless housing units come onto the market, the housing crisis, in all its forms, will only get worse,” he concluded.
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