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South West London is a very popular residential area with outstanding parks and commons including Richmond Park, Wimbledon Common and Clapham Common. It is convenient for Central London, yet very individual with many places having their own separate identities. Clapham, Richmond, Wimbledon Village and Barnes are among the most sought after locations in London. Factors which are important when choosing a home in South West London are the flight paths into Heathrow and the bottlenecks which can still form on the bridges across the Thames, despite the new Congestion Charging.

 Clapham (SW4) is a very popular area with families, it has a breezy, relaxed atmosphere and property here is highly sought after.  The area is largely Victorian with some Georgian buildings, although there is a mixed range of modern properties at Poynders Road, a gated development with parking.  There are plenty of family houses, plus small, starter flats in three-storey houses, most of which have been converted in the last 20 years.  Abbeville Road and Old Town have a village feel.  A good rail and tube service link Clapham with the city with tube stations at both Clapham South and Clapham Common.

Battersea (SW11) is not on a tube line, but it is an increasingly popular area offering terraced housing and new and refurbished apartments.

Battersea is sometimes referred to as “South Chelsea”, and is rather genteel.  Battersea Park is beautiful, bordered by the Thames on one side and elegant Edwardian mansion blocks on the other, with recent apartment developments at Duke’s, Candlemakers, and Attico on Lavender Hill.  Sports facilities are very good here with jogging in the park one of the popular pastimes.   Transport is not so good, the area being largely served by buses.

Putney (SW15) is a busy suburb with an individual character. It is a particularly popular area with single people looking for apartment accommodation.  It also has a proportion of family housing, some of it very desirable and expensive.  New developments here include apartments and penthouses at Esprit; on the Upper Richmond Road at Northam House; at HQ House in West Putney and at Percy Laurie House.  Along Lower Richmond Road there is a mixture of traditional terraced housing, most of it between three and four storeys high.  The roads near the river and Putney Common possess extremely sought after family homes while streets close to the swimming pool leading northwards towards Putney Heath, have some solid semi detached and detached homes, all are fairly pricey because of the location. There are popular terraces and small semi detached houses in Galveston Road, Schubert Road and Mexfield Road. Putney itself is well served by shops and restaurants.

Wimbledon (SW19) is largely residential. In common with other “village” areas in Central London it is more expensive in the area near the Common.  A good, somewhat more affordable area, is just to the north of South Wimbledon tube station, in the area around South Park Gardens. Though it is an area of traditional housing there are some contemporary apartment blocks like that at High Trees.  Wimbledon Station has combined tube and rail access, and the closer to the station the more expensive property is likely to be.  Wimbledon has a good, large, covered shopping centre, with its aptly named ‘Centre Court’ restaurant area.

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Barnes (SW13), further to the west, is an established ‘village’ by the Thames which has maintained its traditional feel. It is a very desirable and expensive place, particularly popular with media types. There is a good mix of terraced Victorian and Edwardian houses and popular 1930s houses in Westmoreland Road, Barons Mead Road. There are sought after, modern riverside developments including the award winning Harrods Depository development located on Trinity Church Road where apartments, penthouses and town houses are set in landscaped gardens. In the centre of Barnes you will find a high street with small, attractive shops, a duck pond and The Sun pub. A village fete takes place once a year.

Following the River Thames towards Mortlake you reach White Hart Lane and an area known by estate agents as ‘Little Chelsea’. Here you will find a network of narrow streets with tiny, trendy cottages and alleyways twisting close to the railway lines.  Roads like First and Second Avenue have a selection of sturdy terraced houses. On the other side of the Barnes - Mortlake railway line there is a second fashionable cottage-style area known as ‘The Royals’ which is marginally cheaper than Little Chelsea.

Mortlake (SW14) and East Sheen (SW14) are often destinations for families who would like substantial houses and cannot afford to live in Barnes. Mortlake has a stock of terraced and semi detached housing close to the railway station, while East Sheen has a wide range of detached, semi and terraced properties. There are new contemporary apartments in Mortlake at The Point on Kingsway. Those on the Richmond Park side are more fashionable and expensive. The main road through East Sheen is the south circular and it becomes very congested. Aircraft noise is a factor. The shops are excellent for day to day needs with a Safeways and Waitrose supermarket next to each other.

Kew (TW9) is a lovely residential area and to the east of the Kew Road are roads such as Eversfield Road, The Avenue, Fitzwilliam Avenue and so on where there are flats overlooking Kew Gardens and streets of traditional style housing at the upper end of the market, much of which is detached and fairly large.  New apartments have been built here at Kew Gardens. Popular restaurants are located around here. There are also a couple of pubs overlooking Kew Green, the Rose and Crown and the Kings Arms.  On the other side of the road and close by the river Thames, in Gloucester Road, Priory Road and Bushwood Road you will find more streets of traditionally style upper end of the market housing. Brentford and Isleworth are generally a bit unattractive especially viewed from the main roads, but there are some interesting housing areas near the river. And at Brentford there has been much waterside development, newer apartment complexes can be found at Brentford Lock, Ferry Quays and Capital West.

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Richmond is an affluent cosmopolitan suburban town on the Thames and is one of the most desirable areas of London, needless to say it is also one of the most expensive. There are some magnificent houses and very fashionable apartments, particularly on Richmond Hill. However, off street parking is at a premium here. The roads between Richmond Hill, Richmond Park and Sheen Road are a good source of mostly Victorian houses and apartment conversions. The Alberts is the fashionable cottage area of the town and is very popular with couples. Communications from Richmond are excellent including fast trains into Waterloo and a choice of two tube lines.

Richmond has a busy, pleasant shopping centre, a village green, a theatre hosting many pre-West End productions, the river and to cap it all, there is Richmond Park with its ponds, deer and arboretum. Over Richmond Bridge is St Margarets where there is a lovely park.  The houses are mainly terraced but this is a pleasant family area with properties at more reasonable prices.

Twickenham is a popular suburb five miles south west of Hammersmith with fast rail connections into Waterloo. There is a range of properties here from flats through reasonably priced three and four bedroom semis and large terraced houses to very large detached houses. Particularly sought after are those along the Embankment, by The Green and the Richmond Bridge Development.  Property is largely Victorian or Edwardian although there are modern infills dotted here and there.  Recent building includes that on Rowntree Road and apartments and town houses at St Margaret’s on Richmond Road.with range of. Twickenham benefits from a busy high street of local shops, and walks by the Thames. 

Running along the edge of Richmond Park, there are several smaller villages which include Ham and Petersham and these offer cottage style accommodation and spacious town houses as well as good quality three and four bedroomed semi and detached properties.  The disadvantage of this area is that there is no local railway station.

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