I used to come to this part of France a lot on holidays and stayed in hotels but I was really keen to find a place of my own. Then about 15 years ago, an ex-girlfriend of mine told me about this house that was going at a good price. It was actually the first and only place I looked at .

Perhaps it's a throwback to our Stone Age ancestry, but it seems to me that the urge to bury ourselves in some sort of den, or cave, is still a very strong instinct. Caves and dens aren't very common in your average urban environment, unfortunately (not in Wandsworth, anyway), so the modern-day equivalent would appear to be a shed of some kind. How else would you explain the growing popularity of outdoor rooms and garden studios in our backyards?

Clean sweep

Arden Glade, Claverdon, Warwickshire. Price: £1.85m. Agent: John Shepherd New Homes, tel: 01564 731 100

They say: One of three cutting-edge properties designed with luxury and the latest domestic technology in mind.

We say: Even the garage looks like a fabulous contemporary structure – so there will be no Ford Mondeos in there, thank you very much.

Owning a second home can be a complex business, not just in terms of the financial commitment but whether it is socially and environmentally responsible to own overseas. However, with green issues high on the agenda, developers are more likely than ever to incorporate sustainability into their projects.

Here are eight of the world's hottest investment buys:

Cyprus has long been a favourite for British holiday home owners and now, after decades of uncertainty, the north of the island is becoming as popular as the south.

When investors first discovered Cape Verde a few years ago, headlines were filled with tales of the archipelago's investment potential. As many more emerging markets have since caught investors' eyes, has the dream for Cape Verde become a reality?

The very mention of "Dubai" conjures up images of modernity, a remarkable city of towers created by engineers from hostile terrain in a hostile climate. But even within this contemporary context, there is an emerging sector of high-technology homes.

Combine an extraordinarily wealthy local economy with a fabulous climate and a pro-property business regime, and you usually create a booming market for new homes.

I want to buy an investment property overseas. Should I release equity in my UK home, and where should I shop for a mortgage – in the UK or abroad? AD, by e-mail

House prices fell for the eighth month in a row during June, while annual growth fell at its fastest rate since the 1990s crash, figures showed today.

Mortgage lending into the property market in effect collapsed during May, according to the latest figures from the Bank of England. The number of mortgages approved for house purchase fell to just 42,000 – the lowest figure recorded by the Bank since it began collecting this information 15 years ago.

Some 70 per cent of people buying newly built homes experience problems with the property, according to a survey by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT).

The Gates family home is a 40,000 sq ft mansion in the exclusive suburb of Medina, on the shores of Lake Washington. The "lodge" has a library, with a domed reading room, a pool, a garage with enough space for 30 cars, speakers hidden beneath the wallpaper, portable touch pads that control everything from TV sets and the lights to the temperature. The total value of the house is estimated at $113m – the annual property tax is just over $1m.

One of the Government's most distinguished advisers on housing policy, Professor David Miles, has suggested that house prices could fall by 10 per cent this year, and leave more than a million householders in negative equity.

House prices are falling, oil prices are soaring, the country has an unelected Labour prime minister and private renting has never been so popular. That might sound like 1975 but it actually describes Britain in 2008. According to Halifax bank, one in eight – or 12 per cent – of households rents privately, the highest share since Rising Damp, the classic sitcom about renting, was topping the TV ratings.

Some people dismiss eco-concerns as the preserve of the rich middle-classes. Having been a councillor in Peckham and spoken to groups all over the UK about climate change, I can vouch for the fact that there are millions of people with low incomes who are as passionate about saving the planet as Zac Goldsmith.

Period piece

Newton House, Newton Blossomville, Bucks. Price: £1.1m. Agent: Jackson-Stops & Staff. Tel: 01525 290 641

They say: Impressive five-bedroom period family home in excellent condition with annexe potential and manicured private grounds overlooking the village school and green.

We say: Recently refurbished and with an extension comprising an extra bedroom, family room and study, this is a lovely house full of great features. It provides lots of living space in a pretty village.