Snooping around: Rural, urban or renovation

In town: Norwich, Norfolk. Read Mills is a gated development which echoes the mill that once presided over this stretch of river, a stroll from the city centre. Many flats have water views and a terrace or balcony. Beware that if you buy now you'll be sharing the site with the builders for a while yet. Prices start from £159,950.
Savills, 01603 229229
Photograph: Savills

In the country: Little Kineton, Warwickshire. This £395,000 four-bedder is part of a 17th-century ex-stable block on the village green. Planners will let you turn the workshop and garage into an annexe and make a fifth bedroom of the attic. The weary decor needs a good spruce up.
Strutt & Parker, 01295 273592
Photograph: Strutt & Parker

Wreck of the week: Hawes, North Yorkshire. Inside this three-bed terrace cottage near Sedbergh the 1970s are still going strong. New central heating, wiring, a kitchen and a bathroom will set you back at least £50,000, and that is on top of the £250,000 asking price. It sits atop a hill in a handsome market town in the heart of the Yorkshire Dales. Unfortunately the neighbours have right of way across the back garden.
George F. White, 01677 425301
Photograph: George F. White

Bargain of the week: County Durham. The grim demeanour does this four-bedder a disservice. Inside the bedrooms and two receptions have been stylishly revamped with wooden floors, a stately fireplace in the living room, a granite-trimmed kitchen/breakfast room and a glamour bathroom. But its chief glory is the grounds: just under nine acres in the village of Woodland. It languished on the market at £550,000 but is now a steal at £429,950.
George F. White, 01388 527966
Photograph: George F. White

Over the sea: Portugal. Terraces swell out from every storey of this three-bed and bathroomed house in Porches, near Lagoa in the Algarve. The pool house has room for a kitchenette and already possesses a shower and toilet, so you can cook and eat at your waterside when you tire of the large tile-floored living room. The gardens are screened from the world by electric gates, but you can gaze over the surrounding landscapes from your terraces. Yours for £430,885.
Winkworth, 00 351 282 356 952
Photograph: Winkworth