Your $32 million takes a village in England

LINKENHOLT, England (AP) — Sheep dot green hills. Pheasants hop across country lanes. Quaint cottages sit next to a tiny stone church. Neighbors who've known each other since birth greet strangers warmly. And for about $32 million, this leafy, nostalgic slice of England could be yours.

The village of Linkenholt's 21 cottages, grand manor house, lush green cricket pitch and accompanying pavilion are part of an estate that also encompasses 1,500 acres of farmland and another 425 acres of woods.

The entire estate is for sale — as a whole — with the only part not on the block being St. Peter's, built on the site of a 12th century church.

"That," said real estate agent Tim Sherston, "is owned by God."

Having an entire estate become available is "very unusual indeed, particularly in the south of England," Sherston said. "I can't recall the last time a village came up for sale."

London Police Probes Bulgarian Dreams Real Estate Agency

Bulgarian Dreams, a London-based estate agency that folded last year, is being investigated by the City of London Police Economic Crime Department, the Sunday Times reported.

"We have received a number of complaints about Bulgarian Dreams and have begun an investigation," a spokeswoman said. She confirmed that the company closed its Moorgate offices at the end of 2008, but could not comment further.

Founded and owned by Robert Jenkin, a Cambridge graduate, and his Bulgarian wife, Mariya Georgieva, the company sold flats and houses at more than 40 developments in Sofia, the capital, in ski resorts such as Bansko and Pamporovo, and on the Black Sea coast.

A message on the Bulgarian Dreams website says that the company has ceased trading "following the extraordinarily difficult economic conditions" and suggests those who bought property through it should contact the Bulgarian developers directly.

European property market may not recover till 2012

“It is important for financing problems to be worked out, and for price cuts to come into force,” Benoit du Passage, head of Jones Lang LaSalle for southern Europe. “If access to financing is freed up ... that would be very good for the market,” he said.

Morgan Stanley, and Germany’s Allianz among others, are predicting discount purchases in the second half and in 2010, in low-risk markets like London, where there is liquidity and where average prices have plunged more than 37% since the June 2007 peak.

“London has seen the strongest reduction in values since 2008. I’ve seen meetings (at MIPIM) and I’d be surprised if they didn’t come to something,” Mark England, chief executive for BNP Paribas Real Estate unit Atisreal said. (Reuters)

Russian buyers back in London

Tempted by lower prices, rich Russians are back snapping up prime London properties - and it's slowing the fall in the market there, say real estate brokers.

Compared to its peak back in March 2008, prime real estate in London has fallen by almost 23 per cent. That, coupled with the fall of the British pound, puts buyers with U.S. dollars and euros at a distinct advantage.

Since most Russians with substantial wealth stash their hoard in dollars or euros, they have not been as hard hit as you might expect from the dwindling rouble. Indeed, buying property in Britain still seems to be a very attractive option for those with money to spare.

U.K. RICS Home Sales Fall to Record Low

March 10 (Bloomberg) -- U.K. housing sales dropped to the lowest since at least 1978 as the recession pushed prices down further, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors said.

The average number of transactions in a survey of real- estate agents and surveyors dropped to 9.5 per respondent in the quarter through February, the lowest since the data began three decades ago, the group said today in London. The gauge of house prices fell last month to minus 78.3 from minus 76.6 in January.

The number of new homes being built in Britain may fall to the lowest since 1921 this year as the recession deepens, the National Housing Federation predicted today. The Bank of England cut its key interest rate last week to 0.5 percent, the lowest ever, and said it will buy assets to replenish banks’ balance sheets and encourage lending.

Standard Life sells property holdings

The Edinburgh-based company may invest as much as another 100 million pounds ($142 million) in stocks, Andrew Jackson, head of property strategy, said in a Feb. 27 interview. Land Securities Group Plc, British Land Co. and Hammerson Plc plan to raise 2.1 billion pounds to avoid breaching loan agreements.

"We think rights offers will be the catalyst for a rally in the U.K.," said Jackson, who expects the advance to start by the end of June. "We will be putting the money in a number ofmarkets including the U.S., where we have been terribly underweight, and support some of the rights issues in the U.K."

Property has slumped 38 percent since reaching a record in June 2007 compared with a 77 percent plunge in the FTSE All-Share Real Estate Index, which peaked in January that year.

U.K. House Prices Drop Annual 10%

March 2 (Bloomberg) -- U.K. house prices fell the most since at least 2001 last month as rising unemployment and a dearth of loans discouraged buyers, Hometrack Ltd. said.

The average cost of a home in England and Wales declined 10 percent from a year earlier to 157,000 pounds ($223,000), the London-based property researcher said in a report today. Prices slipped 0.8 percent from a month earlier, led by Wales.

The economy contracted at the sharpest pace since 1980 in the fourth quarter and joblessness rose to a 10-year high in January, intensifying Britain’s yearlong property slump. The Bank of England will probably lower the key interest rate to a record low this week to help the country out of recession.