THE FATAL shooting last month of a 15-year-old boy, Billy Cox, in his home on the Fenwick estate in Clapham was made all the more shocking by its location: the Fenwick estate may not be an attractive place to live, but Clapham is no Peckham. The high street, a few hundred yards from the estate, has plenty of charity shops, a McDonald’s and a KFC, but it is also home to expensive delis, speciality bread shops and estate agents advertising million-pound houses.

At the corner of Clapham High Street and Lendal Terrace, graffiti reading “RIP Remer”, a reference to Billy, the third South London teenager to be shot and killed in the space of two weeks, remains, but the disturbing violence is unlikely to affect house prices in what remains a sought-after location.

There are many reasons for its popularity. If you look past the familiar names of Strada, Starbucks and Caffè Nero there is plenty of interest. A fabulous delicatessen, Esca, a decent local bookshop, Clapham Books, a new organic food shop and deli, Green Bag, and a good local restaurant, Metro, outside Clapham Common Tube station.

The real attractions in Clapham, however, lie just off the high street: opposite Clapham High Street railway station there is a Japanese restaurant, Tsunami, offering great food and delicious saké cocktails. Up at the other end of the road, the Clapham Picture House shows arthouse as well as box-office films, and opposite the cinema lies Gastro, a Clapham institution and an authentically French dining experience (don’t bother asking for your steak well done).

On The Pavement, which runs from the high street along the edge of the Common towards the rather more quaint Clapham Old Town, you will find one of the best butchers in London, M. Moen & Sons, as well as a French pâtisserie selling delicious cakes and tarts. And of course there is the Common itself, which stretches for a couple of miles towards Battersea and Balham. Those looking for a quaint village atmosphere should look elsewhere, however. Clapham High Street is noisy and vibrant; it has an overwhelmingly youthful feel, full of school-children in the afternoons, and the young and single by night. For yummy mummies pushing strollers, you need to head across the common to Battersea Rise and Northcote Road.

“Clapham High Street is quite twentysome-thing,” comments Alasdair MacKenzie, the Cluttons partner in charge of sales for Clapham and Battersea. “The thirty and fortysomethings are all over Battersea. The younger crowd is attracted by the good gyms, the cinema, the excellent transport links. Plus it’s close to Brixton, where there’s always a lot going on, and you have the common.” There’s plenty going on there, too; in the summer it plays host to events like Get Loaded in the Park, an annual music festival.

There are good primary schools, while secondary schools are more varied. However, “between the commons” – the area between the Clapham and Wandsworth commons – is well served by state and private secondary schools.

When it comes to property, there is a varied selection – little of it to be found on the high street itself. “Property on the high street just doesn’t come up for sale very often,” Mr Mackenzie says. “It’s fairly commercial.” Once again, it is all about the roads that lead off the high street. “The market here is very strong,” he says. Property moves quickly, and does not come cheap.

Douglas & Gordon is selling a handsome family home on Chelsham Road, just a couple of minutes from Clapham North Tube and Clapham High Street station, for £960,000. The five-bedroom, 2,500 sq ft property has a large loft, a 40ft garden and two reception rooms. “Roads around here do vary, and Chelsham is a very good road,” says Charlie Lemon, of Douglas & Gordon. “It is quite an interesting road too, home to a number of actors, artists and illustrators.” Also near Clapham North, Cluttons is selling a new, four-bedroom property built around its own courtyard for £775,000.

Two-bedroom flats start at about £270,000, but the more attractive ones – and particularly those with outside space – will sell for up to £400,000, while three-bedroom properties can go for anything from £350,000 to £500,000. Foxtons is selling a two-bedroom flat in Elmhurst Mansions, just off the high street, for £360,000. A three-bedroom flat with garden in an enviable location on the edge of the common, at the end of Clapham High Street, is on the market with Foxtons for £595,000.

Anyone wanting to invest in a special slice of Clapham real estate should wait until later this year, when flats in the former Parkside Hotel go on sale. This landmark building, overlooking the common from the north side, was sold to developers for £13.5 million and is due to be converted into 30 flats. Ed Lewis, of Savills, which advised on the sale, says: “This is a fabulous site, one of a pair of almost Parisian-style buildings. The apartments will have great views and wonderful ceiling heights. It will be one of the best residential developments south of the river.”

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