Off to London Home Show we go... again!

My first time working at the Share to Buy, London Home Show

Attending the Share to Buy, London Home Show at the Queen Elizabeth Centre in Westminster was an experience I'll never forget. As a representative of Aster Sales, this event was a fantastic opportunity to connect with potential homebuyers and share our expertise, or as we like to put it, our own take on ‘AI’! (Aster Intelligence.

The Queen Elizabeth Centre, located in the heart of Westminster, was the perfect setting in the Capital for the event. The atmosphere was buzzing with excitement as attendees from all walks of life gathered to learn about shared ownership.

This year was particularly special for me as it was my first time working at the show. I was surrounded by our wonderful team. Our stand featured a touch screen quiz that tested visitors' knowledge about shared ownership, and a map of London where attendees could plot their desired living locations. It was fantastic to see people actively participating and enjoying the interactive elements we had set up.

One of the highlights for our team was debuting Aster Intelligence. We held talks throughout the day, explaining everything about shared ownership, our homes in London and outside of the Capital. The sessions were well-attended, and it was great to see the interest and participation from the audience. Our goal was to demystify the process and provide clear, actionable information, and I believe we achieved that.

I had the privilege of helping to gather Vox Pops and meeting customers  at the show. We were finding out about people's thoughts on what home means to them, why London is special, what they know about shared ownership, and their concerns about shared ownership. It was fascinating to hear diverse perspectives and understand the real concerns people have. We then put these concerns to our shared ownership experts, who addressed them later on in our own Q&A sessions. This interactive approach helped clarify many doubts and provided reassurance to potential buyers.

Beyond our stand, the event featured a series of seminars covering a range of topics, including the benefits of shared ownership, the process of buying a home, and financial planning for first-time buyers. One talk that was particularly special to watch was the one hosted by none other than our own Amy Nettleton, Assistant Development Director Sales and Marketing at Aster Sales. Amy spoke about the important, and commonly asked, topic: private rent vs shared ownership. This is even more important when looking at London directly; where there is such a rent epidemic; where rental prices are rising monthly; where there is a shortage of rentals therefore causing rental bidding wars; and finally the uncertainty of if a long term rental property is secure. Amy did a fantastic job and gave food for thought for prospective shared owners.

By the end of the day, I felt much more confident about the impact we can make in helping people achieve their dream of shared ownership. For me, the biggest takeaway was seeing how important the show was in helping people understand what shared ownership is exactly and giving reassurance that owning a home can be possible, despite what they may think. Moreover, the show is a great one stop event to find out about mortgage assessments, so they could go away from the show, knowing their budgets. It can be reassuring to the potential home owner to meet us [Aster] in person too, with so many questions flying through heads when starting this journey, a face to face conversation can really help answer any queries, no matter how big or small.

The information we shared and the connections we made were invaluable. The Share to Buy, London Home Show not only allowed us to educate others but also inspired us to continue our mission with renewed enthusiasm.