Trading up, trading down - in pictures

Trading up: North Yorkshire. Ecclesiastical austerity has been conjured into worldly luxury in this £299,999 former chapel in the fishing village of Staithes. A spiral stair leads from the vaulted, open-plan living area to an elegantly balustraded gallery where there is an additional sitting area with views over the village and two of the four bedrooms. It’s situated in the village high street, a short walk from the idyllic harbour and an easy drive to the surrounding moors.
Smiths Gore Photograph: Smiths Gore

Trading up: Cumbria. It is said that the sons of the family who built this farmhouse near Kirby Stephen competed to show off their carpentry skills, and the results survive in the ornate timber ceilings. Outside, the architecture is equally elaborate and the sitting room and largest of the four bedrooms occupy an elegantly curved gable end. It is set in 3.5 acres of garden, woodland and paddock, and you could also buy a nearby barn and more land that has been granted permission to become a holiday let. The decor could do with an update, and beware the public footpath through part of the wood. On the market for £395,000.
Smiths Gore Photograph: Smiths Gore

Trading down: Cardiff. The living room and both bedrooms of this £200,000 Cardiff Bay flat open on to the balcony overlooking the water, a panorama which gives your compact new lifestyle the illusion of infinite space. The main bedroom is an en suite.
Taylors Photograph: Taylors

Trading down: Cambridgeshire. Shrink quaintly beneath thatch in the village of West Wratting. An inglenook fireplace dominates the dual aspect reception and both bedrooms are liberally beamed (beware concussion: they stripe sloping ceilings). There is room for family dining in the farmhouse kitchen, while the gardens front and back are hospitably sized. The car lives in a large attached garage. Cost: £285,000.
Carter Jonas Photograph: Carter Jonas

Bargain of the week: London. This has to be one of the cheapest footholds in the capital’s property market – £99,950 for a studio flat in a mansion block off Brixton Hill. There is, of course, a rub: it is still on its original 1930s lease, which has just 56 years left to run, although you can apply to extend this for £23,000 plus costs. Moreover, it needs a thorough programme of refurbishment. Nonetheless you’ll be left with a spacious living area with separate kitchen in a desirable part of the capital.
Kinleigh Folkard & Hayward Photograph: Kinleigh Folkard & Hayward