So what’s the plan for the weekend? Where will you be heading off to after you’ve done the weekly shop now life’s returned to normal after a succession of Bank Holiday celebrations?

Take a look at a few show homes on new developments. Even if you’re not ready to upsticks and buy a new place, it’s a fun (and free) way to discover what colour interior designers are painting their walls and the latest trends in furnishings.

According to the National Association of Estate Agents, the supply of second hand homes has dwindled due to current conditions but there’s no shortage of new builds. They’re coming out of the ground as prolifically as a crop of veg sown from a packet of seeds last autumn by Monty Don.

The number of sites in the Bucks-Berks–Oxfordshire region must be close to a record so why not visit one or two show houses. No pressure. Treat it as an excursion. Take a picnic. Make a day of it.

This weekend Shanly Homes, the Beaconsfield-based developer recently named Housebuilder of the Year in the Thames Valley, is staging a Help to Buy event from 10-5 on Saturday and Sunday on a gated small development less than a mile from the river in Maidenhead.

There are 12 properties in total in the apartment block at Green Trees in Widbrook Road (SL6 HHS) - ten two-beds and a couple of one-beds. There are six flats left. Using Help to Buy, the five per cent deposit for the last one-bed available at £380,000 amounts to £19,000. The show apartment at Green Trees is open everyday from 10-5.

Last weekend, Hamptons International launched a development of just four houses in Old Windsor. The four- and five-bedroom properties at Moram Mews in Datchet Road (SL4 2RQ) overlook farmland owned by the royals. The site is two miles from Windsor town centre, six miles from Heathrow. Call the agents on 01753 855555 if you fancy viewing the show home.

Across in Marlow, developer Crest Nicholson are offering to pay the stamp duty for buyers who snap up one of the final five apartments left to sell on the successful Portland Gardens development off Malthouse Way (SL7 2UE), a stone’s throw from the High Street.

The contemporary design of the spacious open plan living area gives each flat the feeling of a single storey house more than a traditional flat. Prices from £679,950. The show homes are open from 10.30-5.30 Saturdays and Sundays and 10-5 on weekdays except for Thursdays when they’re open until 7pm.

Over in Saunderton, there are two show homes among the last three houses on Dandara’s Saint’s Hill development in Slough Lane, Saunderton (HP14 4HN).

The price of the former show homes includes light fittings, posh floors, curtains and blinds. One is for sale for £589,950. Being below the £600,000 ceiling for Help to Buy, the deposit for this house with all the extras will be five per cent of the purchase price. Contact the agents at Hamptons in Great Missenden (01494 863134 if you’re planning to call in on the Saunderton development on Saturday. The show home is closed on Sundays but barring that, it’s open everyday from 10-4.

While you’re talking Hamptons in Missenden ask to view the ten apartments in the gated development above their branch in the High Street, two minutes walk from the station. Prices range from £350,000-£550,000.