Iraqi Kurdistan is enjoying a properties boom due to extensive British investment in housing in the area.

Northern Iraq has always been more stable that the rest of the country and has benefited from that in the past and even more so now.

One (out of many?) development going up is called the ‘English Village’ that features Londonesque two-story homes, front gardens and even Range Rovers in the garage. This like other developments is in the Iraqi Kurdistan capital of Irbil.

There is a lot of money in Irbil and the city is untouched by the global credit crunch due to the fact that all transactions are conducted in cash. And Kurds have a lot of cash stored under the bed to spend on new villas.

But not only are Kurds buying, but a lot of ex-patriots are also buying homes either for personal use or investments, or both. One family bought 13 homes. The increased demand has sent prices soaring. Two years ago a five bedroom home cost $125,000, that itself is pricey by Middle Eastern standards. Now a home like that is $200,000 to $230,000

The $76m village includes 410 houses, a school and a five-level shopping mall. There is also an Italian village in the works.

Some homes not fetch a $700,000 price tag. What do Kurds say about some of their neighbors who can afford such a price tag? They work either for the CIA, MI6 or the Israeli Mossad.