You get the bling address, va-va-voom interiors and service staff for a fifth of the price. The only thing you don't get is a friendly atmosphere, the lack of which is suffocating

What? The Bishops Avenue? Stuffy?

This interesting piece is about the appearance of - cough - apartments, among the £40m mansions. Apparently, it's a credit crunch thing... £2.85m to £10m is much more affordable in the current climate. See here and here. Look, you can even rent.

Technorati Tags: London, property, real estate

The recession here is a mere mouse-squeak in the roar of fame and infamy that rolls round these megalithic houses.

Blimey. The Telegraph's Caroline McGhie is in Hampstead, visiting a few properties that start at £25m on Courtenay Avenue and The Biships Avenue. Nor - apparently - is it just journalists visiting... the developers say they're getting viewings, and lots of them.

Technorati Tags: London, property, real estate

Mouseprice's ten fastest falling residential streets in the UK include a couple of London roads. Erebus Drive, in SE26, close to the river in Greenwich, is heavy on new-build apartments, but Russell Road in Barnet (NW9) looks like a fairly average residential road. You can see the full top ten on Mouseprice's actual report by clicking here.

Technorati Tags: London, property, real estate

Woodland Terrace is a development of nine houses on Twyford Avenue, with their own tennis court right next door. But who cares about tennis, when you're a GCSE certificate's throw away from the popular Fortismere School? According to the Telegraph, the Woodland Terrace is proving crunch-resistant... the homes going on sale for between £500,000 and £800,000 above local average. Yet, no matter how many times I read the pertinent paragraph, the Rat and Mouse is struck by the fact that the homes are for sale, rather than sold. Fortismere's headteacher's funny, though:

"Some have suggested that this [premium] may run to hundreds of thousands, depending on the property. It would be interesting to speculate on what we could do at the school if all of these families, and the building developers, returned the favour by donating, say, five per cent of the value the school has added to their houses."

The Rat and Mouse bets you that won't happen.

Technorati Tags: London, property, real estate

... with their incessant building and bragging and odd-smelling organic cheeses and expensive handbags. Except mainly the building. According to today's Times, the City of London, guardians of the Heath, are warning that the character and peace of the place is under threat from a spate of extensions and home improvements which will loom over the capital's favourite parkland, and offer the toffs uninterrupted views of ladies bathing in the ladies' pond and men coupling in the bushes. More here.

Technorati Tags: London, property, real estate

It's Highwood House in expensive Mill Hill, and it's significant because during the early 19th Century it was the home to Sir Stamford Raffles, the man who founded Singapore. That might not get you all excited, but it appears to be creating a fuss in Singapore, where there are calls for the building to be turned into a museum or bought and restored by a wealthy Singaporean. I can't find a listing, but the story goes that it's on the market for £3.5m.

If these walls could talk... HG Wells edition [May 2, 2008]

UPDATE - a hearty thanks to the Rat and Mouse reader who put me in touch with the particulars, here.

Technorati Tags: London, property, real estate

Way back - and I mean way back - in 2005, the Rat and Mouse reported on steel gazillionaire Lakshmi Mittal's ruckus with The Bishop's Avenue neighbour Princess Samerah concerning plans to build a development of 12 apartments with balconies overlooking his Summer Palace. The ruckus has now ended. Because - according to this - Mittal's decided that if you can't beat 'em, clear out. The house is said to be listed at £40m, with local specialist Glentree Estates, although there's no sign of online particulars right now.

Tumbleweed blowing down Millionaires' Row [February 18, 2008]

Technorati Tags: London, property, real estate

An interesting interview with Trevor Abrahmsohn, the man who brokered the Toprak Mansion deal and is now selling Lakshmi Mittal's gaff next door, in the Telegraph. He has The Bishop's Avenue sewn up, and he doesn't seem in the least concerned that it's a ghost town. The piece is a good read, and includes a potted history of London's most expensive avenue.

Technorati Tags: London, property, real estate

And for £50m, a new London record, after nearby Palladio's sale for £35m just a fortnight ago. The buyer? A Kazakhstani billionaire by the name of Horelma Peramam. More here.

Feeling horny? Forbes UK property porn special [January 26, 2007]
Bishop's Avenue's £50m house [May 5, 2006]

According to this trip around 61/2 Redington Road in Hampstead, it's had half the Arsenal team sniffing around its fingerprint entry system, floor-to-ceiling glazing and Ralph Lauren bed. It's a remarkable place... four bedrooms, John McAslan and Partners design, double garage... with Quintessentially Estates, guide price £6m (although I can't find any sign of it on their website... if you want pictures, go here for the Telegraph slideshow). It's apparently not so remarkable it hasn't been on the market for a while, though. Here's a piece from June, and the Times, welcoming the property to the market.

Technorati Tags: architecture, design, London, property, real estate