Trading up, trading down

Trading up: Northamptonshire. Victorian dignity has been enhanced by a thorough upgrade in this four-bed house in Little Houghton. The floors are exposed wood, the fireplaces in both receptions are flanked by alcoves, while the bath is ball and clawfoot. Glass doors meld the sitting room with a large garden where fruit trees supply some of your five-a-day. A cellar and a utility room will help absorb your domestic expansion. Cost: £345,000. Jackson Stops & Staff , 01604 632991 Photograph: Jackson Stops & Staff Photograph: guardian.co.uk Trading up: County Durham. Life in the Weardale valley will take on palatial proportions inside and out. This is a six-bed farmhouse with two beam-striped receptions, a huge dining-kitchen and a conservatory. It has views over its own four-and-a-half acres and a lofty dining terrace looks out to the hills. Yours for £475,000, it is buffered from the main road by a long driveway partially shared with a neighbour, while a garage with a workshop will shield the car from wild winters. George F White , 01388 527966 Photograph: George F White Photograph: guardian.co.uk Trading down: London. This is rustic joy in urban safety, provided you’re graduating from serious wealth. A floriferous front garden shields the cottage from the road and, as it faces Putney Heath, the views through the foliage are of open green expanses. From here you can perambulate unbroken turf (apart from the A3) as far as Wimbledon Common, and Richmond Park is a stroll in the other direction. Inside, immaculately groomed, is a double reception, a miniature study and two bedrooms. Cost: £425,000. Douglas and Gordon , 020 8785 6666 Photograph: Douglas and Gordon Photograph: guardian.co.uk Trading down: Devon. There are very few affordable ways to gain a foothold in the sailing resort of Salcombe. Yet here for £250,000 is chic accommodation practically on the water’s edge.But there are catches: it’s a studio apartment, albeit a spacious and elegant one with the bedroom area screened off by glass bricks; and it is down an alley so the view is of looming brick walls. But the water laps just feet away, it’s a bracing walk to the beach, and you could probably wrangle a mooring on the pontoon a minute’s walk from the door. It has hitherto earned a reliable income as a holiday let. Marchand Petit , 01548 844473 Photograph: Marchand Petit Photograph: guardian.co.uk Overseas: Dominican Republic. The still-emerging amber coast resort panders to the western notion of Utopia. The flats and villas are surrounded by gardens, swimming pools and pine trees strung along a white sandy shoreline. The posher villas (from £550,000) perch on their own sandy island and all have sliding glass doors opening on to terraces with whirlpool baths. A five-star hotel operator will manage it all, including a spa, marina, golf and fitness clubs, and a 10% rental income is guaranteed (you get 30 days a year of use for yourself). Prices start from £110,000 for a studio. Winkworth International , 020 7691 4269 Photograph: Winkworth International Photograph: guardian.co.uk