Flats sell out in five hours
One couple queued 36 hours for home in yet-to-be built block
AN ENTIRE block of flats in Uxbridge town centre sold out in just FIVE hours, even though building work hasn’t yet begun.
Keen property buyers began queueing to get their hands on one of the 73 Howarth Homes’ apartments up to 36 hours before the launch.
The housing block, nicknamed Panorama, will provide 73 studios and apartments, at a starting price of £224,995.
Hillingdon Council approved the application to go ahead, including the demolition of the Fassnidge Community Dining Hall, currently on site, at a Major Planning Application hearing on March 3.
Just one week later, Howarth Homes sold all 73 apartments and even exchanged contracts, at their launch on Thursday, March 10 at the Sheraton Skyline Hotel by Heathrow Airport.
First time buyers, Marina Kosleva and her husband, arrived at 5am the day before to ensure they got a place at the front of the queue, having rented for the last few years.
Mrs Kosleva said: “We really wanted to buy a Panorama apartment as they are being built in a great location.
“It’s very convenient for me as I work at Heathrow and my husband also works locally.
“We see this as a long term investment for our future – because we are buying it off plan and it won’t be finished for a couple of years, it should have hopefully increased in value before we even move in.”
When plans for the apartments were announced, around 60 residents signed a petition urging the council to reject the application as it was an ‘erosion of the ethos of the Fassnidge [Memorial] Trust’.
The dining hall serves round 20 people aged over 60 who use the facility, which is staffed by one paid cook and three volunteers, and will have no venue for 18 months while the block is built.
As part of the application approval, Howarth Homes must provide a replacement community dining facility in the block, along with undercroft car parking, a new vehicle access point, communal and private amenity areas and landscaping.
Mary O’Sullivan, head of sales at Howarth Homes, said: “The fact that our last few development launches have sold out within a matter of hours on each launch day proves there is a real appetite for competitively priced, high quality homes in the South East.”
The new properties enjoy a prime location just a couple of minutes from a wide array of shops, restaurants and culture – with two major shopping centres, The Pavilions and Intu both filled with high street brands.