Trading up, trading down

Trading up: Kent. Isolated in the Romney marshes with bracing flat wilderness to the front and back is this deceptive enormity. Inside are four large receptions, a kitchen/breakfast room, five bedrooms and a separate studio. The garden backs on to a canal with green views. A mile's stroll down the road is the fetching Kent village of Appledore, and it is seven miles to the ancient port of Rye. Yours for £350,000.
Humberts, 01580 765858 Photograph: Humberts/Humberts

Trading up: Yorkshire. Although it's an ex-farmhouse, this £365,000 four-bedder sits sociably in the main street of Irton, a village three miles from Scarborough. Recent renovations have glamourised the three large receptions and the farmhouse kitchen, and supplied an en suite to one of the bedrooms. There is a walled garden, a garage and pastoral views to the front.
Jackson-Stops & Staff, 01904 625033 Photograph: Jackson-Stops & Staff/Jackson-Stops & Staff

Trading down: Middlesex. Shrink elegantly into these studio and one- and two-bedroom apartments which are loaning art deco-style chic to Brentford. Wrap-around terraces swell from the open-plan living areas, some with leafy park views. It is a brief amble to the trendy charms of Chiswick High Road and the block presides over a development set to include a piazza, shops, restaurants and an art gallery. Prices start at £200,990.
Barratt Homes, 020 8326 7277 Photograph: Barratt Homes/Barratt Homes

Trading down: Kent. This is the more affordable end of the Garden of England, six miles from Dover. For £165,000 you get grade II-listed graces in miniature – ceiling beams, alcoves, a brick fireplace and tiled and wooden floors. It is in the well-serviced village of Eastry with two off-street parking places. Inside are two bedrooms, a kitchen/diner and a living room.
GW Finn & Sons, 01304 612147 Photograph: GW Finn & Sons/GW Finn & Sons

Over the sea: Portugal. Once two farmhouse semis, this £395,000 house could easily be redivided to give you a rental income. As it stands it is large enough to absorb those who will crave your hospitality – four double bedrooms, two attic rooms, three receptions and two kitchens. It is on the edge of a pretty Algarve village, 25 minutes from Faro airport, and has a swimming pool, lemon, almond and pomegranate trees, and country views from its terraces.
Mayfair International Realty, 020 7467 5330 Photograph: Mayfair International Realty/Mayfair International Realty