Trading up, trading down – in pictures

Trading up: East Sussex The biggest things about this 17th-century cottage in Arlington are the half-acre of garden and rolling views to the Downs. And, of course, the £500,000 price tag which the agent says is competitive. And it probably is given its quaint charms – ancient tiled floors, brick hearths, beams and latticed windows, and a luscious location on the edge of a national park. Serious expansion will require an extension, but the large reception room, a midget study and three bedrooms – one very svelte – will accommodate you very prettily until then.
Freeman Forman, 01273 812061
Photograph: Freeman Forman

Trading down: London Your diminished circumstances are soothed by a large roof terrace with spreading views across the city, which you share with the neighbours in this new block in Shoreditch. The 755 sq ft of accommodation is elegantly finished with two bedrooms and an open-plan living area. You might not be needing the secure parking place that comes with it because you can walk to the City and to Islington in half an hour. The downside is that you are perched by the side of the frenetic arterial route north, the A10.
Fyfemcdade.com Photograph: Fyfemcdad

Trading up: Somerset The exterior of this Georgian semi in the village of Milverton is deceptively compact: it conceals three receptions and five bedrooms over extensive cellars. A track leads round the back to a double garage from where you pass through a large walled garden to the house. Recent beautifying has added underfloor heating to the bathroom and styled the farmhousey basement kitchen without disrespecting the flagstoned floors, sash windows and fireplaces. Cost: £475,000.
Jackson-Stops and Staff
Photograph: Jackson-Stops

Trading down: Surrey This is a very pleasant way to shrink: an airy two-bed flat on the ground floor of a leafy, mock-Tudor development encircling a communal garden. It’s a walk into Weybridge and a mile from fast rail services to London. Not everyone will rejoice in the legacy of shiny white fitted cupboards in both double bedrooms, but the décor throughout is tidy and inoffensively neutral. Yours for £234,950.
johndwood.co.uk, 01932 842 323
Photograph: John D Wood

Bargain of the week: Hampshire A swimming pool and a four-bed detached house would ordinarily require more than £550,000 in this area, but this smartly fitted home down a wooded track in the village of Yateley has had its price cut to £499,950 for a quick sale. The 21ft kitchen and dining room open on to the garden with its heated pool, there’s a large beamed sitting room with an exposed stone wall and hearth, and a study with a door into the garage.
Waterfords.co.uk, 01252 870222
Photograph: waterfords.co.uk