It’s unclear whether it really was built to replace a house damaged by a car veering off the road as its occupants had a row, but the man who created this tiny detached home in north London is taking no chances. The property, which is on the market for £495,000, features downstairs windows that echo the chevrons nearby and light up at night.

There’s no garden and if you support Spurs you might want to give it a miss, as when Arsenal are playing at home you may be surrounded by their fans. But if you are looking for a freehold house in zone 2 for less than a top footballer earns in a month this one-bedroom home might just fit the bill.



The living area is on the first floor of the property. Photograph: Hamptons International

Built 15 years ago and in the same hands ever since, this detached pad offers 422 square feet of living space over two floors. There’s a guest cloakroom and outside space in the form of a balcony.

The agent handling the sale, Daniel O’Brien, associate director of the Islington branch of Hamptons International, said it was the smallest freehold house he’d ever had on his books.



You can probably listen to the football live from the balcony.

“We’ve had a steady stream of viewings,” he said. “People look at it and they either say that’s not for me, or they go ‘wow’ and want to see it.”

The Land Registry puts the average price in Islington at £668,825. O’Brien said this property had been priced at a 10% premium to flats in the area because it was freehold and detached.

Floorplan of the Gillespie Road home.

“It would suit someone downsizing, first-time buyers who don’t want an apartment, or someone who wants a bolthole in London – the tube is nearby and you can be in the west end in 15 minutes,” he said.



If the thought of a leasehold flat drives you round the bend or you’re taking downsizing seriously, this could be one for you.