By Hilary Porter

A LUXURIOUS £3 million Hampshire home could be yours for just £25 after its owners decided to raffle it in a competition.

Mark and Sharon Beresford decided to launch their 'Win a Mega home competition' after a series of sales fell through and two years on the property market.

The competition is running for four months and the couple plan to hand over their home at the end of the summer.

Located in picturesque Avon Castle near Ringwood, in an acre of land, the property is a multiple award-winning Huf Haus, built off site in Germany and constructed of wood and glass.

Avon Place offers over 7,000 sq ft of light and airy open-plan living over three floors with spectacular views over the River Avon and Avon Valley.

It has six double bedrooms, all with en-suite facilities, and seven reception rooms that include a games/snooker room, cinema room with 65” screen and multiple sitting rooms, plus a hi-tech modern kitchen.

Situated on an elevated plot, a stunning wood and glass exterior floods the house with natural light and the home enjoys 60ft of direct river frontage, along with fishing rights. Outside, there is a bespoke-built BBQ house in the landscaped gardens.

Its tranquil setting and full length glass frontage is perfect for watching unusual birds and wildlife|: recent sightings include red deer, a family of breeding otters, kingfishers, tawny and barn owls plus the very rare bittern.

The house is incredibly energy efficient and sustainable with around £270 per-month, covering gas, electricity and water bills. There is parking in the form of a block of four garages

Also included in the prize is all fitted furniture, Stamp Duty and solicitors costs (up to £1,500 including VAT).

There are only 250,000 tickets available and the competition closes on July 31.

To be in with a chance to win, you should register and answer a question about fishing at www.winamegahome.co.uk. The winning ticket will be drawn by Sir Christopher Chope MP OBE.witnessed by two solicitors.

They will have to sell 120,000 tickets to reach the £3million asking price. There are a maximum 250,000 tickets available, meaning entrants have a 250,000-1 chance of winning compared to the 14,000,000-1 chance of winning the National Lottery.

Mark Beresford, 61, said:"We had several offers, two of them serious ones, but the last was from an Omani whose daughters were going to university in England but when he realised the stamp duty would be £340,000 he said I can rent a house for three years for less and buy a ski chalet in France for that"

Mark was managing director of Wates Property Services for eight years who built WestQuay and tower blocks in the city. He added: "I'm pretty sure the market at this level will remain flat for three years because of economic uncertainty, and there are a lot of properties over £2 million and not the buyers to buy them. Now you have to practically give your house away so I thought I'd give everyone a chance with a ticket for £25. We have thousands of tickets sold already and it's sponsored on Instagram and facebook. 30 per cent of people are getting the question right so you have a one in 75,000 chance of winning if you buy just one ticket."

He continued: "A lot of people are struggling to sell because of stamp duty: it kills aspiration and the people who are stuck are those with large houses. People moving generates income from buying carpets, interiors, home removals etc- all that economic activity slows down. All agents say the same thing that stamp duty has killed property above 1.5 million as it's 12 per cent. So people should think I won't have that take-away this weekend or go to the cinema- I will buy a ticket to win the house instead!