Woman camping out for chance to buy house: ‘I only queued like this before for Garth Brooks’

It sounded like a confused jazz act and it smelt like a calculated publicity stunt — but for the home-seekers camping out for the chance to buy a house of their own, this was serious business.

Sonia O’Driscoll arrived on Wednesday to join the queue outside the Miller’s Glen development in Swords, Co Dublin, the first phase of which goes on sale tomorrow amid scenes worryingly reminiscent of the last decade’s ultimately disastrous property bubble.

“We can’t let this chance pass. We’ve been looking for a good few months but it’s bidding wars everywhere you go with houses going for €40-€50,000 over the asking price,” said the 23-year-old civil servant who works in the Mater Hospital.