A man slept in his car overnight as more than 300 people queued to secure a new flat in Rickmansworth.

The former Comet headquarters in Homestead Road has been converted into 66 flats.

The flats were unveiled for the first time last Friday and more than 300 people queued to try and secure one of them.

But the “All Sold” sign was up by 9pm- within hours of the flats going on sale – leaving hundreds who started queuing on Friday morning disappointed.

One investor slept in his car overnight to make sure he was at the front of the line.

Katy Croft, from the developer’s PR company said: “He was keen to get a top floor, one bedroom apartment which had a large terrace and because he was first in the queue he was able to buy the exact property he wanted, plus another one.

“He was also queuing on behalf of his brother, who also purchased two apartments.”

Sales and marketing manager at Howarth Homes, Linzie Howland, described the conversion of the former Comet headquarters as the “first new development of apartments of a significant scale…in Rickmansworth for many years”.

She said: “As this is the first new development of apartments of a significant scale to be created in Rickmansworth for many years, we did anticipate there would be strong interest from both owner occupiers and investors alike.

“As such, we had solicitors at the launch, enabling purchasers to exchange on the day. We were hopeful that most of the units would be reserved over the course of the weekend, but certainly didn’t anticipate that all sixty six units would all sell by 9pm Friday evening.

“It was a crazy few hours.”

The squeeze on housing in Three Rivers has intensified in recent months, with a number of studies by the National Housing Federation highlighting the difficulty for people to get on the housing ladder in the district. 

Three Rivers has been rated as the fourth-most difficult place for first time buyers in the UK, with the average lowest 25 per cent of housing in the district costing £250,000.

When London was included in the most difficult places to buy, the district was rated as the eighth most difficult place to buy for the first time.

This followed on from another report which revealed people renting privately in Three Rivers are being forced to spend more than half of their monthly wages on rent – making it the most expensive area to rent outside of London in the UK.

Councillor Ann Shaw, leader of Three Rivers District Council, said: “We desperately need more social housing for young people who are being priced out of the local housing market.

“We have to provide more units of accommodation to meet our target and if we do not have flats, we will have to go into the Green Belt.

“But of course, this particular development didn’t need planning permission in the way we would usually see it because the government has agreed this sort of development could go ahead.”

Did you queue up for one of the flats? Were you successful or did you miss out? Tell us about your experiences by calling: 078245 30119 or emailing: michael.knowles@london.newsquest.co.uk