WHEN photocopiers are used to make pictures of body parts, it is seldom the tiny hands of a two-year-old child that spill forth. But in Eltham, a respectable family suburb in southeast London, it is what estate agents do to keep children entertained. “It means that mum and dad can get on with business,” says Susan Monoghan, manager at the Eltham branch of Mann Countrywide, to explain what her staff is doing with a toddler and the office equipment.

The recent influx of new families to the area means that local agents now have to be a deft hand at childcare if they want to sell any houses. Priced out of fancier postcodes, families come in search of good affordable homes, and Eltham has them in abundance.

Built largely in the 1900s by the Scottish MP and teetotal developer Archibald Cameron Corbett, this little corner of suburbia sandwiched between Greenwich and Bromley offers row upon row of solid Edwardian terraces, semis and even detached houses at relatively reasonable prices. On the streets that gave the world Bob Hope, you can still find a decent three-bed-room family home for £230,000, if you act quickly. Fourbed semis come in under £500,000 and six-bedroom villas that would cost £1 million elsewhere can be found for less than £800,000.

But not all Eltham is Edwardian. New chunks were added all through the past century and properties of a later vintage offer even better value, especially to the first-time buyer. A flat in a former 1970s local authority block can cost £120,000 (under the stamp duty threshold) if you do not mind the ground floor. First-time buyers wanting a house can find one on the Progress Estate, north of Eltham centre. The scenic development was built by the Government in 1915 to accommodate the extra wartime workers at the Royal Arsenal at Woolwich. A cute but tiny three-bedroom cottage costs £250,000. For something bigger, head south towards New Eltham for a crop of three-bedroom 1930s semis that cost between £250,000 and £270,000.

Related Internet Links

• An essential guide for first-time buyers

BACKGROUND

• Getting on the property ladder: DIY approach

• Affordable first-time buyer homes

• New homes offer a first step on the housing ladder

Ten things you need to know about... buying your first home

Soaring property prices have made it difficult for first-time buyers to get onto the property ladder. But a slower market could provide new opportunities: find out how to make the most of them

• A step-by-step guide to buying your first home

Related Internet Links

• First-time buyer special

• Property guides

First-time buyers are deserting property market

According to figures, first-time buyers are leaving the property market, with numbers falling by a fifth in the past six months

• Where there’s the will there could be a way

• First time buyers risk negative equity

BACKGROUND

• How to get onto the property ladder

• Useful websites for first-time buyers

• Rise in buyers borrowing five times their income

• Where there’s the will there could be a way

BACKGROUND

• We need more homes

• Grab a home in Tuscany

• Furnished with brainpower

• Auction stations

BACKGROUND

• The home town exiles

• Affordable first-time buyer homes

• First-time buyers face highest mortgage costs in 15 years

• Useful websites for first-time buyers

BACKGROUND

• A problem shared is a problem solved

• Beware of bidding for bargains

• Step on to the property ladder

• Young home-buyers forced into record debt

BACKGROUND

• Wimpey to fight for first-time buyers

• Chic and cheerful

• First rung

• Beware of giving it 110 per cent with your loan

BACKGROUND

• Keep it in the family

• How do I get in?

• The rise of parent power

• Pester power

With Kent just down the Maidstone Road, Eltham is part town, part country. Several huge parks, the Royal Blackheath Golf Course and a smattering of school playing fields provide plenty of green. Severndroog Castle, built in 1784 and looming over woodland on the edge of Eltham, was featured in the BBC’s Restoration series in 2004. Something of the village that grew up around themedieval Eltham Palace still hangs in the air. Walk around St John the Baptist Church and friendly parishioners will break off from their coffee morning to tell you about the church’s origins in the Domesday Book.

But the Big Smoke is never far away. Before he started knocking up the Barratt home of his day, Corbett made sure that the area had decent rail links to attract the new white-collar workers. Trains from Eltham, Falconwood, Mottingham, Kidbrooke and New Eltham can whisk you to Central London in half an hour or so. The A2 and A20 are also near by. Head out towards Kent and you are at the huge Bluewater shopping centre within 20 minutes. There you will find countless stores, several restaurants and a Molton Brown day spa. For the serious shopper, it is the ultimate retail fix.

But Bluewater’s proximity is something of a mixed blessing for Eltham. Its workaday shops simply cannot compete. The high street in Eltham does not appear to have had a refit since the 1980s. Although most of the usual suspects are still open for business, the Coop and Allders have recently closed. Here locals get their caffeine buzz in a scattering of greasy spoons. Pensioners pop in to St Mary’s Community Centre during the morning for a cuppa. The area lacks the usual signs of an up-and-coming neighbourhood. Instead of gastro-pubs, there is a Wimpy. There are no trendy bars selling overpriced cocktails, knickknack shops or organic butchers offering rare-breed beef.

Of the few pubs in the area, at least two are boarded up. The Old Greyhound now has a new owner but no new tenant. Restaurants are limited to a few Italian, Indian and Chinese eateries. For a decent night out, locals must head to Blackheath or Greenwich.

But the lack of alcohol or entertainment does have a positive side. The pavements are pretty clean and the fighting on the streets of other South London suburbs seems a million miles away. Here even the edgier elements are quite nonthreatening. The gentleman smoking a quiet spliff at Eltham station was perfectly polite and well groomed.

Eltham remains a calm and sober enclave for the hard-working middle classes. Corbett, a Presbyterian temperance man, would still approve.

FACT FILE

Where is Eltham? In the Borough of Greenwich, almost nine miles southeast of Charing Cross.

How do I get there? There are trains from Victoria (32 minutes), London Bridge (17 minutes) and Charing Cross (26 minutes),

What’s going for it? Solid family houses. Affordable flats for first-time buyers.

Is that it? There are loads of parks and some decent schools. Gordon Primary School and Eltham College are very popular.

What about fun? Bob Hope was born in Eltham and Boy George grew up there, but you will find little in the way of entertainment.

I thought Kate Bush lived there? She did for a bit. Probably liked the peace and quiet.

Is it a property hot spot? Not exactly, but that could change. Prices are rising, but not as quickly as in other parts of the capital. Hometrack says values went up 6 per cent last year compared with almost 13 per cent for the London average. Over the river Hackney experienced a rise of 23 per cent.

What about an agent? Try Mann Countrywide on 020-8850 2621.

Times recommends

• Second homes: credit crunch casualty or money-spinner?
• How I built my own sliding house
• Top 10 incentives for house buyers