Once our TV screens were dominated by makeover shows. But now, having tired of the interior, programme makers have climbed onto the property ladder and have cashed in on our fascination with buying and selling homes - preferably someone else's.

The experts say that the housing boom is over, but there's little sign of a slowdown in the TV property market. Having given home interiors a make-over, producers have turned their attention to buying and selling homes both in this country and abroad.

A programme like Location, Location, Location is a very des res in ratings terms. Never mind that some people can't even afford the mortgage for one home, that hasn't deterred programme-makers looking for new TV programmes in which those with cash to spare are encouraged to buy a home in the country or abroad.

Estate agents, whose reputation used to be on a par with insurance agents and used car salesmen, are the new Laurence Llewelyn Bowens and Linda Barkers of the small screen.

Top of the property seekers are Channel 4's Kirstie Allsopp and Phil Spencer. The couple, who present Location, Location, Location and its spin-off Relocation, Relocation, have become unlikely sex symbols.

Who doesn't feel a shiver when Kirstie utters her catchphrase: "You could knock down that wall". When she declared, "I love a man with a sledgehammer" on the programme the other week, sales of these instruments of destruction must have soared.

This couple illustrate the importance of finding the right presenter. Kirstie and Phil weren't TV celebrities at the start, but professional property finders running their own businesses. They were chosen after the search for TV presenters who also knew about houses proved fruitless.

On screen, their chemistry is one of the reasons Location, Location, Location, attracts such big audiences, although they're always at pains to point out that they're not a couple off-screen.

They were business rivals thrown together for the pilot episode who got along well. "We have very different approaches and the combination works very well," says Phil.

Once screens were dominated by makeover shows like Changing Rooms and cookery shows like Food And Drink. Seeing that viewers were tiring of these, programme-makers climbed on the property ladder. If people were happy with the interior, they reasoned, why not sell the place and make a bit of money?

Channel 4 led the way in a genre of progammes about house-hunting and life-change that's been dubbed "hard hat TV". The BBC, busy in home (Changing Rooms) and garden (Ground Force), was late to catch up.

Buying and selling houses appeals to the voyeur in all of us. We enjoy snooping around other people's homes without getting arrested. We're free to comment and criticise their taste in decoration without hurting the owner's feelings, and safe in the knowledge that we can shut the door - by pressing the off button on the set - and never see the place again. The stress of moving house is removed.

Kirstie and Phil's Relocation, Relocation attempts to find a home in the country and another in the city for couples. This is the ideal of many, but one few have the finances to carry out.

Grand Designs, another of C4's property portfolios, follows people as they build their dream house. The chances are most of us will never follow this route, but we can witness the traumas and the pitfalls from a safe distance.

Property Ladder has expert Sarah Beeny advising developers on making the maximum profit from their property.

Other programmes, including A Place In The Sun and Get A New Life, help people find homes abroad. This enables the presenter to top up their tan while showing prospective buyers around a variety of usually unsuitable properties. It's amazing how many of these people have never even visited the country in which they've chosen to purchase a place to live. Perhaps they should also offer counselling in surrendering a life you know for a fresh start in unfamiliar surroundings.

A series such as House Doctor straddles both the property-selling and property-makeover genres as sharp-tongued American interior designer Ann Maurice helps owners having difficulties selling their homes. She offers them tips on improving the place to make it more buyer-friendly. Nine times out of ten, a rapid sale ensues once her work is done.

ITV1 got in on the act this week with House Auction, which is House Doctor on a grander scale. Designers set out to transform a tired-looking property in order to make the maximum gain at auction. This appeals to people's greed as well as their decorating ideas.

Five - the channel that introduced us to the House Doctor - cuts to the chase by simply giving away homes. Hot Property has presenter Alice Beer offering a couple several houses from which to choose. Then they have to guess the asking price. Get close enough and the place is theirs for nothing. Carol Smillie used to present Changing Rooms, the BBC show that sparked off the interest in makeover shows. Now she's switched to five, overseeing the makeover of a foreign property that can be won by a lucky viewer. A new home for free is something that appeals to us all.

Get A New Life: Tuesday, BBC2, 8pm.

Selling Houses: Tuesday, C4, 8pm.

Location, Location, Location: Wednesday, C4, 8pm.

House Doctor: Friday, five, 8pm.

Hot Property: Friday, five, 8.30pm.