Students queued from last Friday to this Tuesday outside a letting agent in Oxford, hoping to be first in line for a property for the next academic year – more than nine months away.
The properties themselves were not released, on The List, until Tuesday.
The students camped out under tents, blankets and umbrellas, and slept in sleeping bags, but could far more easily have seen the List online in the comfort of their own college rooms and bedsits.
In previous years, they have camped out for up to a week.
There had also been talk some years ago of all Oxford agents agreeing not to release student properties until at least February.
Simon Tyrrell, director of Finders Keepers letting agency, said: “It’s not a new precedent but they started queuing earlier this year than last.
“There were about 100 students queuing but when The List was finally released on Tuesday, about 400 students came into the office.
“There was some talk amongst agents to have an agreed release date but it never happened.
“The idea of scheduling a single day was to stop students queuing overnight but it was hoped that now students can view The List online when it’s released, there was no need to come in to the actual offices.
“But they come in anyway.”
Doesn’t say much for the IQ levels for attendees of one of the great learning institutions of the world
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Maybe the students wanted advice and to speak to a professional as they need advice and pointers as well as a list?
I think they should be applauded taking things so seriously not mocked. Still i guess easy to do so from a plush ivory tower.
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Wouldn’t the world be a much more boring place without people doing such things. Why not I say!
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Probably more to it that meets the eye. It might be a dummy run, spending 5 days sat on their ar$es doing nothing now to see if they can cope with spending 365 days sat on their ar$es doing nothing next year.
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The lists were online but customers decided to come to an office anyway ……. Great bit of advertising for full service high street agents against online only agents.
The true value of a high street agent is appreciated by the young, they may be after their first home but these are buyers and sellers of tomorrows property and they see the value in a high street agent.
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Never a truer word said smileplease – rather than student-bashing we should take this as a positive for the traditional industry model in which the vast majority of us Eye readers work!
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I can’t understand the value in the large queue and unnecessary panic for these students being created. We’ve adopted online lists, reservations and contract signings now for years, and allows us to be student property market leaders in our area. We still have an office they can come to if they wish, but the technology we have adopted simply makes things easier for the students, and the agents! If these students had access to this as well as a defined list release date, I think all of this waiting around, and probably unnecessary rushing into house choices, would be almost completely avoided!
I don’t understand how this reflects in any way on the IQ of the students here, if all they can do is “view the list online” they are going to need to go into the office at some point! The market is fast paced, so of course they want to book their property first…
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