They are hard task masters in the Half Moon. Our recent efforts involving houses that were, for first time buyers, free from stamp duty up to £250,000 left my fellow drinkers decidedly unimpressed.

“There’s not many first time buyers can afford £250,000” was one of the kinder comments. Others included phrases such as “what world do you live in?” and the shorter but sharper single word comment of “dimwit”.

So, just to prove we do have our wits about us, we did a bit of research – and found, by averaging out various averages, that the average price paid by first time buyers in the UK is £133,700 (as a matter of interest, according to BBC research, the average overall price of a house in York, January-March 2010, was £204,450 which sounds a bit low to me but there you go).

So, we set out to discover what can you buy for under £133,700 – and we were pleasantly surprised to find if not particularly quantity then some quality. And here are a few examples of what we mean.

Starting with two properties in Spalding Avenue on the books of Hunters. The first is a smart, very nicely presented mid town house which has a good-sized lounge and an attractive kitchen diner. There are three bedrooms and a pretty bathroom – and a good garden with patio and sitting area at the back. It is priced at £119,500.

The second is up the same street and is also a mid-town house, priced a little higher at £124,950. This one is beautifully presented with a particularly nice lounge and smart kitchen diner, two bedrooms and house bathroom and garden with patio and lawned area.

As well as price we were looking for properties that were smartly turned out inside and Your Move Anscombs have a fine example of what we had in mind – a mid terrace house in Temple Avenue. On the ground floor there is a light and bright modern living room and a well-fitted kitchen with dining area. On the first floor there are two good double bedrooms, both with fitted wardrobes, and a house bathroom.

There are gardens to front and back with the latter including mature trees, lawn and patio area. The asking price is £130,000.

Another attractively presented house is on the books of Coalters, a big and bright three bed semi in Woodlea Avenue at Acomb. We very much liked the bright and airy décor and modern feel of this house. It has a large lounge and a superb 21ft dining kitchen as highlights; there are three bedrooms and a house bathroom and, another highlight, a brilliant 64ft lawned rear garden. Well worth a view at £129,995.

Another good semi (well, end terrace strictly speaking) worth a look is on the books of Ashtons; pop in and ask for details of a well turned out home in Chapelfields Road, Acomb. Here there is a large lounge/dining room with a well-fitted kitchen with utility room to the side; two double bedrooms; block paved driveway to the front and private garden to the back. It’s priced at £130,000.

And, last but definitely not least we found a home with lots of charm and character – well, we were quite smitten. It is an end terrace house in Bramham Avenue which has a gravelled drive to the front and attractive lawned garden to the back. Inside there is a lot to admire including lounge with stripped wood flooring and a feature open fire and a brick archway through to a dining room with slate tile flooring – and there is a newly (bespoke) fitted kitchen with solid wood units and slate granite work surfaces.

Upstairs there are two decent-sized bedrooms, both with solid wood flooring and one with fitted wardrobes. As we said, there’s plenty of character on show here. Reeds Rains at Acomb are looking for £129,950.