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How it rates

Clapham, South London - cheaper than Wandsworth but more expensive than Balham - has become fashionable over the past few years with City types priced out of Chelsea, a five- minute cab ride away. Clapham is not as genteel as Battersea but neither is it as boring.

Architectural gems

The houses are mostly Victorian and Edwardian, with a few sought-after Georgian properties to be found on the roads running off the south side of the Common. Grafton Square is a South London rarity, with white stucco-fronted Victorian houses around the sort of elegant garden square more usually found in North London.

What's new

Four two-beds and a one-bed flat are for sale at Sedley Place, a funky converted warehouse with off-street parking by Venn Street. Prices start at £415,000 (Douglas & Gordon: 020-7801 3313). Thirty- two luxury flats are for sale at Thornton Place, a development in a grandiose 19th-century building on the north side of the Common. Prices for studio flats start at £360,000, with the largest properties, which come complete with red marble columns, likely to go for about £2 million. Register interest at thornton-place.co.uk.

Travel

Enviably connected. The Northern Line Tube runs from both ends of the high street (Clapham Common and Clapham North stations). Overground trains to London Bridge run from Clapham High Street station, and to Victoria and Waterloo from Clapham Junction in neighbouring Battersea.

Quality of life

Pockets of affluence rub shoulders with poor areas, and violent crime rates in Lambeth are double the English average. Nevertheless, plenty of green spaces, large houses and decent schools make the area popular with young families, while the bars and restaurants are a magnet for twentysomethings.

Smartest streets

The west side of the Common, which has large, wide houses with great views, as well as the roads off the north side, including Victoria Rise and The Chase, are very popular, as are properties on and around Abbeville Road. Crescent Grove has some impressive Georgian properties, which are relatively rare in the this part of town.

Restaurants

There are plenty of eateries on the high street, but the best restaurants are just off the beaten track. In the Old Town there is Trinity, the latest venture of the chef Adam Byatt, which was named best local restaurant by Time Out in 2007-08. Close to Clapham North station is Tsunami, which is said to serve some of the best Japanese food in London.

Nightlife

Hectic. There is no shortage of bars and pubs, most of which are packed on the weekends, particularly during the summer, when Clapham Common plays host to a number of events including Ben and Jerry's Sundae festival and Get Loaded in the Park. There is a very good independent cinema, the Clapham Picture House, on Venn Street.

Education

There are two decent private prep schools, Eaton House and Parkgate House, as well the French Lycée on Wix's Lane and Clapham Manor state primary school, which received an “outstanding” rating in the latest Ofsted report.

Upside

“Good transport links and schools make Clapham a great location for young professionals who have not quite made it to Chelsea yet,” says Jessica Thompson of Savills. “But Clapham has more edge and character. It's very vibrant.”

Downside

Clapham may be a little too vibrant for some tastes. “The high street is very much geared to young people - it has a bit of a university town feel,” says Sam Sproston of Knight Frank. Parts remain rather rundown: the area around Clapham Junction is not attractive. “It could do with a facelift,” Thompson says. “It is reminiscent of the way Notting Hill was 15 years ago.”

At a glance

45%

Increase in property prices in Lambeth over the past five years

1890

The year that the Clapham Common bandstand was built. It has been restored and reopened in 2006

21,296

The number of apartments in Clapham centre

1700

The year the diarist Samuel Pepys retired to Clapham

Sources: www. lambeth.gov.uk; www.london

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