Old and new homes – in pictures

New-build home: London. Renaissance is an apt name for this glamorous swirl in south-east London, for the impoverished borough of Lewisham has tasted the fringe benefits of the Olympics. But there are two impediments to domestic bliss: one is that the complex of 788 homes is so new it still exists only in computer generated images, and the other is that Lewisham, while vibrant, has yet to experience full economic renaissance. Since the development sits opposite a DLR station, however, you can seek relief in the quainter pleasures of Greenwich or the reclaimed chic of Southwark quaysides. There will be a public fitness centre on the site and landscaped gardens through the middle. Studios start at £166,500.
Barratt Homes, 0845 8710005
Photograph: Barratt Homes

Historic home: Dorset. The antiquity of this 300-year-old house in Bridport is so pure it’s barely been touched by the past half century. Delightful as Georgian fanlights, window shutters, ornate fireplaces, flagstoned floors and beamed ceilings are, new inhabitants are likely to covet new wiring, décor and fittings. While they’re at it they can extend into the attic rooms, turn a second kitchen into a fourth bedroom and exploit the planning permission for an annexe. Despite the fact it’s in the heart of town it still manages a 180ft walled plot as leafy and secluded as a country garden. On the market for £415,000.
Chesterton Humberts, 01308 422215
Photograph: Chesterton Humberts

New-build home: Cambridge. This is new comfortably buffered by old. The cluster of restored mill buildings and modern blocks are a 20 minute walk from the ancient glories of the city. Just why the development has been named after Ceres, the Greek goddess of fertility and agriculture, is unclear, for this is a thoroughly metropolitan ideal of piazzas and lawns. While the old mill buildings make a striking setting for moneyed urbanites, the contribution of the new blocks to Cambridge’s architectural fame is less obvious. But once inside you rejoice in chic fittings and underfloor heating. Sadly you have to pay in extra and get in quick if you want a parking space, and you’ll have to wait at least a year until you can move in. Prices start at £234,950 for a one-bed flat.
Hill Residential, 0844 225 1977
Photograph: Hill Residential

Historic home: Shropshire. The 420-year-old house is the new bit; the two-acre estate stands on the ruins of a 13th-century Knights Templar preceptary near Church Stretton. Happily, the Tudors introduced modern comforts which would have thrilled their medieval predecessors: original arch fireplaces still warm some of the rooms, which are boarded with 16th-century wood, and some 16th-century wall paintings survive on a door frame. The following century added the panelled drawing room and garderobe, the Georgians put in the staircase, and the doors of the three reception rooms, study and four bedrooms are ancient oak. Yours for £690,000.
Nock Deighton, 01584 87 55 55
Photograph: Nock Deighton

New-build home: Devon. This is part of the new town of Cranbrook, currently arising seven miles outside Exeter and, for pioneer settlers, it’s a chance to acquire a five-bed, three-bathroom detached home with a double garage for £379,995. When complete the town will be self-sufficient with schools, surgeries, railway station, library and a country park. Most dramatically, an energy centre will supply reduced cost heating and limitless hot water through biomass fuels, so residents can be liberated from boilers and hot water cylinders.
Winkworth, 01392 422320
Photograph: Winkworth