Buy yourself a stately home for the price of a London flat From the outside, the house looks a bit like one of those crumbling stately homes, which has been in the same family for generations and is now inhabited by a bufferish Lord Emsworth type. In fact, the property was acquired by Pembrokeshire County Council as long ago as 1952 and, for nearly fifty years, was used as residential care home, before closing in 2010. The lay-out of the property, with bedrooms outnumbering reception rooms five to one, reflects its institutional history. Prospective buyers have doubtless been put off by the amount of work that would be needed to restore it to its former glory. All the period features are still there - marble fireplaces, Ionic pilasters etc - but the house would need major refurbishment before it could be seen to best advantage. Another disadvantage of the property is the relatively small amount of land that comes with the house - just six acres in all. The gardens are pretty and well landscaped, with sunken tennis and croquet lawns, but modest in size. However palatial the house, the new owners would be living cheek by jowl with neighbouring farmers. "I think for that reason the house is unlikely to attract a wealthy private owner," says Clay. You could perhaps see it ending up as retirement apartments. But you never know. It is a unique property. Clay suspects that people's reluctance to part with their money also reflects the uncertainty that has affected the top end of the property market since the chattering classes at Westminster have raised the spectre of a mansion tax."It is only talk at the moment, and would theoretically only affect properties in the £2 million-plus bracket, but with both Labour and the Liberal Democrats sympathetic to the idea, it has caused a lot of apprehension. People will think twice before parting with their money if they are afraid of hidden costs further down the line. If the super-rich are twitchy, and properties like Cilwendeg are proving hard to shift in consequence, the outlook for property-owners of more modest means - particularly those with vision and imagination - is more promising. As Cilwendeg vividly demonstrates, the idea of purchasing a house worthy of a Duke and getting change from £1 million has ceased to be pure fantasy and become a practical proposition. Right across Europe, from the mountains of Transylvania to the west coast of Ireland, traditional patterns of home ownership are being turned on their head. Fancy living in a restored 15th-century castle? For just £325,000, little more than the cost of an average home in the UK, you could buy Caherkinmonwee Castle in County Galway. Scotland also offers rich pickings. A few hundred miles to the north of Pembrokeshire, on the Scottish island of Islay, there is a 24-bedroom mansion with 28 acres of land on the market for just £850,000. Islay House, on the market with Knight Frank dates back to the 17th century and overlooks a loch. It is even further from the Piccadilly Line than Cilwendeg, but there are times in life when you have to ask yourself: "Is proximity to the Piccadilly Line the be-all and end-all? What happened to the romance of home ownership? Cilwendeg in North Pembrokeshire is on the market with Knight Frank (01432 273 087) for £650,000.