First-time buyer homes #3

Dorset, south-west: average first-time buyer spend £149,556. This charming stone semi-detached cottage in Portland looks like it is sliding down the hill, but is structurally sound. The interior is simple and very beautifully done - two bedrooms, a very slick bathroom and a knocked through living and dining area. You could move in without worrying about redecorating anything. And it’s very close to Chesil beach and Portland Harbour, venue for the 2012 Olympic sailing. Cost: £149,950.
Red House Estate Agents, 01305 510045
Photograph: Zoopla

Hertfordshire, south-east: average first-time buyer spend £198,575. First time buyers would have to be pretty loaded to afford a home in Bishop’s Stortford, but this attractive two-bed terraced cottage comes in just £1,000 above the average regional spend on a first home. Downstairs the rooms are quite narrow, but there is a separate lounge and dining room. The best thing, though, is the garden – a little oasis. Yours for £199,500.
David Charles, 01279 704066
Photograph: Zoopla.co.uk

West Yorkshire, Yorkshire and the Humber: average first-time buyer spend £110,173). Everything seems brown or beige in this stone built £100,000 back-to-back terrace in Morley, Leeds, but don’t let that put you off. The rooms are a decent size, with an open-plan living room and kitchen, and two decent bedrooms. There's only a small decked patio at the front, so you can keep an eye on the neighbours.
Your Move, 0113 868 0248
Photograph: Zoopla

Warwickshire, West Midlands: average first-time buyer spend £127,571. This recently built semi in Roisins Vineyard, Bedworth, is priced at more than £12,000 over the average first-time buyer spend for this area, but you do get a very neat three-bedder in a secure gated development. It includes a dining room, a lounge, a downstairs toilet, en suite shower room for the biggest bedroom and a separate family bathroom. The third bedroom is really a single and the current owner is using it as a study. On the market for £139,950.
Reeds Rains, 024 7662 0219
Photograph: Zoopla.co

Cheshire, north-west: average first-time buyer spend £119,241. The estate agent describes this two-bed cottage in Weaverham, Northwich, as 'oozing character', and they're right. It is extremely compact and the open front-style cupboards might not be to everyone’s taste (you have to be scrupulous about tidyness, for one thing), but we love the beams, tiled floors and slanting ceilings in the bedrooms. Yours for £125,000.
Reeds Rains, 01606 828272 Photograph: Zoopla