Another newly built mansion is for sale on The Bishops Avenue, Hampstead. The £40million Jersey House, in common with its predecessors Royal Mansion and Palladio, is a temple to ostentation and awaits a Russian or Middle Eastern buyer to fill it with gilded, fur-lined finery.

There is, however, an alternative type of home on the most moneyed road in North London: flats. 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 - but even £40million can't buy that here. This exaggerated suburban street is lined with empty super-homes behind gates manned by security guards. Not friendly.

The arrival of flats on a road that was the preserve of Arts and Crafts villas and pastiche statement homes has coincided with the credit crunch. Although the finances of the avenue's international patrons remain healthy, recent market reluctance has pervaded buying confidence at the highest levels. “The market went dead in September, even for homes over £10 million,” Simon Barry, of Knight Frank, says. “But in the last three weeks buyers have re-emerged to make offers.”

Allingham Court, a showy affair by Barratt Homes, was the first block to open, in February. Octagon Homes has a scheme by East Finchley Tube station that is rather like a Nineties cul-de-sac estate but with smart interiors and beautiful pine trees in the gardens. The third option for lateral living, 49 The Bishops Avenue, previously called The Woods, has the most class by far. The buildings are discreet but the interiors, pictured above, by Brahm, have the burnished, glamorous look of an Art Deco New York penthouse. Of the 14 flats at No49, two have been reserved and one sold.

Two buyers got cold feet and have been allowed to rent their potential purchases for a while as a test run. Prices start at £2.85 million and go up to £8million. Some would call it a bargain, although others would want paying to live on a street like this.

Contact: 49 The Bishops Avenue, Knight Frank, 020-7173 4999; Allingham Court, Octagon Homes and Jersey House, Glentree, 020-8458 7311

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