Dozens of home buyers are sleeping in their own beds tonight after spending nearly a week in line for new Minto Harmony homes.
The line outside the Barrhaven sales office started forming on Monday, five days before new lots were released to the public.
Shy Smardon was the seventh person to line up Monday.
"It's exciting. Barrhaven is an amazing community and the homes in the area are selling like hot cakes," said Smardon. "To be able to pick something we are going to be able to build ourselves and pick all the insides it is such a blessing for sure."
Although Smardon got the home she wanted, she has no intention on ever lining up again.
"As much as it wasn't ideal to take a week off work and to not see your family and to sleep in your car and peeing in porta potties, we really seem to get together as a community and that's a neat experience I wasn't expecting," she said.
Realtors say Ottawa is experiencing a shift towards the west-end of town. Sales in Barrhaven have been strong this year and are not expected to decline anytime soon. As such, there is a scarsity in the market, especially for affordable single family homes.
Those in line say prices on the Harmony homes increased mid-week as the line continued to grow.
"I was number 14, but now I'm number 11 because a couple of people left once they saw the prices, the new prices," said Jerry Cieniak. "They hiked a lot."
The new community off Strandherd Drive will feature 239 single-family homes and townhomes. New homebuyers are not expected to move in until at least 2019.
