Old and new homes - in pictures

Historic home: Leicestershire. If I lived in this four-bed period cottage in Markfield I would spend all my time in the garden or playing with the fitted wardrobes and drawers in the main bedroom: the owner of this home has no excuse to run out of cupboard space. Other readers may prefer the fact this cottage has so many reception rooms that the biggest has been given over to a snooker table. Cost: £350,000.
Click here or call Spencers Countrywide, 0116 350 0112
Photograph: Spencers Countrywide

New build: Cambridge. Apartments in the central Cambridge Riverside development are being promoted as potential buy-to-let opportunities that will offer investors rental yields of more than 5%. Given that the developer is asking £209,950 for a studio flat and up to £499,950 for a two-bedder you can see why it might believe first-time buyers will be priced out. If you can afford the cost, the package boasts individually designed, handle-free kitchens, integrated microwaves, coffee machines and wine coolers in some apartments, and underfloor heating and hard wiring for multi-room audio sound. Buyers can also benefit from a concierge service and residents’ gym.
Berkeley Homes, 01223 656 010
Photograph: Berkeley Homes

New build: London. For a fairly similar amount of money you could live near the trendy area of Stoke Newington. The Mildmay development comprises 91 studio, one-, two- and three-bed luxury apartments ranging in price from £230,000 to £465,000. Based in the relatively peaceful Mildmay Avenue, but close to the lively Essex Road, the prices still take the apartments out of first-time buyer range, but are an attractive option for someone wanting an urban and easy to maintain home.
Click here or call Bairstow Eves Countrywide, 020 3318 5417
Photograph: Bairstow Eves Countrywide

New build: Cambridgeshire. Alternatively, for roughly the same amount of money you could buy a brand new four-bed detached house in St Neots, just half-an-hour’s drive from Cambridge. The property boasts three reception rooms (if you count a study), a light and well-planned kitchen and four reasonably sized bedrooms, one of which is en suite. Yours for £264,995.
Click here or call Elevation, 01234 584069
Photograph: Elevation

Historic home: east Yorkshire. It’s hard to tell how big the rooms are in this three-bed house in Brough – there’s no furniture to give an impression of scale and the estate agent hasn’t included measurements, although it claims the accommodation “is larger than you think”. Two large ground floor rooms consist of a large kitchen diner, which would be fine but for the ugly breakfast bar, and a lounge with a fairly unattractive fireplace (the one upstairs is more handsome). The bathroom upstairs is huge, but bland. The whole renovation smacks of someone trying to make a bit of money on the cheap: the type that invites Sarah Beeny in but then ignores all her advice. Yours for £199,950.
Click here or call Matthew Limb, 01482 535014
Photograph: Matthew Limb