24 April 2008 and everyone was ‘willing away’ the implosion that we now know as the Global Financial Crisis.

In four months all the listed village operators had lost 50% or more of their share value. Their boards were talking up the opportunity to buy cheap and were doing so themselves.

Unfortunately the market kept sinking.

Aevum was soon after bought out by Stockland. Babcock & Brown Communities was taken out by Lendlease. FKP morphed into Aveo and just survived. ING became Ingenia. Prime Trust went bust losing $700 million in cash for mum and dad investors, with Lendlease mopping up most of the Prime Trust villages from receivers. And the saga continues – see the next story.