What will £550,000 buy you in the UK property market?

This four-bedroom house in Fife. Built in the 18th-century as a terrace of fishermen’s cottages, it is balanced on the harbour’s edge in Pittenweem, with sweeping views over the Firth of Forth. A thorough programme of renovations has superimposed a modern interior, including an integrated sound system, on the antique, beamed framework. The layout is unusual – one bedroom is downstairs while another off the first-floor sitting room – and there’s no garden to speak of, only a seating area.
Savills Photograph: Savills

One of these cascading glass blocks on the riverbank at Kingston upon Thames. They offer vast views over the Thames to the green surrounds of Hampton Court. Your budget entitles you to two bedrooms, two bathrooms and an open-plan living area with a balcony on the fourth floor, a stroll away from one of the best-served town centres in Surrey.
Kingston Riverside Photograph: Kingston Riverside

This former cottage hospital near Norwich. This five-bedroom house in the hamlet of Shotesham St Mary, Norfolk began life in 1740 as a medical facility. It’s now been refurbished with cast-iron woodburners added to the fireplaces and a swimming pool and covered barbecue area outside. Beyond the kitchen garden is a newly planted orchard.
Abbotts Photograph: Abbotts

This Victorian house in Dorset. Situated in Leigh, near Sherborne, it overlooks hills and pasture with its own half-acre of garden and an additional 8.5 acres of paddock available by separate negotiation. It’s capacious and elegant inside with three receptions, four bedrooms and three bathrooms.
Chesterton Humberts Photograph: Chesterton Humberts

This executive home on a new estate in Chelmsford. It is only a short walk from the city centre but this home has a more rustic feel, with its views over the new village green. There is a separate study, en suites to two of the five double bedrooms and a studio over the detached garage. Sadly, the density of the development does not allow for a correspondingly generous garden.
Beresford Group Photograph: Beresford Group