Team Property


The Olympics lit up our world.

They showed how Britain looks and lives today, warts and all, and celebrated that identity. They showed modern Britain, the place it is rather than the place some would like it to be, can lead the world but in a way that truly respects other people. And hey, we saw all of this thanks to a public sector broadcaster - how very British.

As we get back to normal, perhaps the property industry can learn from these extraordinary 16 days.

Maybe we should be more inclusive and tolerant of new homes just as we have been of our diverse Olympians and those visiting from around the world. I don't just mean NIMBYs should be more tolerant - although they should, of course - but property journalists too.

We hacks love the look of period homes but forget that most people cannot afford the period gems we depict in so many of our pieces: so how about we celebrate new homes?

Perhaps, too, we should acknowledge that some people will always want to rent.

Even if they do so because they cannot afford to buy, as they would wish, it does not mean they are 'throwing money away' as commentators often put it - they are no more throwing money away than are owner-occupiers paying interest to lenders. In both cases, they are paying to live somewhere.

This might be the time, too, for developers to be less snobby about social housing.

British gold medallists came from elite backgrounds and humble ones and the nation celebrated them equally. Perhaps the property equivalent would be to pepper-pot social housing in a scheme rather than relegate it to some back-of-the-development second rate block as still happens too often.

In other words, perhaps London 2012 will leave behind a change of mood and greater understanding - a 'Diana moment' which changes a country far beyond the event itself.

Is that unlikely in a hard-nosed business like property?

Perhaps. But three weeks ago who would have thought Britain would be as open, international and efficient as we have been at organising and winning at the Olympics?

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