Marsh & Parsons

Marsh & Parsons - Balham Sales

HAS Balham got it all?

From trendy boutiques, buzzing bars and even a golf course, there's enough to keep everyone busy – and rents are relatively affordable too, even though they have risen as Balham's charms are being discovered. The Balham branch of Marsh & Parsons has houses and flats for sale throughout Clapham South, Balham, Tooting Bec, Tooting Broadway and Wandsworth Common.

"The attractions of the area," says Sales Manager of Marsh & Parsons, Louise Rillie, "are the wide open spaces – the commons of Wandsworth, Clapham and Tooting. You can also be in the West End and City in 20 minutes via the Northern Line and Thameslink trains."

The area is also blessed with excellent schools, including Aldebrook Primary, Holy Ghost and Henry Cavendish, as a well as a French Lycée, and all are a big draw for growing families, not forgetting that Balham has the second lowest council tax rates in London.

The most exclusive – and expensive – houses for sale by Marsh & Parsons are between the commons, Abbeville Village and the Nightingale Triangle, says Louise. And on the Heaver Estate there are large double fronted houses with big gardens.

Popular with first time buyers and young families alike, Balham is starting to rival the more established neighbouring residential areas "Balham is like Fulham was 20 years ago. It offers good quality housing at an excellent value." House prices are no laughing matter, however, and have doubled in the past five years. Proof of its popularity as a great place to live.

As one of the premier estate agents selling properties in the Balham area, Marsh & Parsons prides itself on its local know how. From the best schools in the area to the finest boutiques, bars and restaurants and the cost of a resident's parking permit, staff at Marsh & Parsons have their finger firmly on the local pulse.

So, what will you get for your money in Balham?

Marsh & Parsons, Balham's premier estate agent has studio flats for sale in Victorian conversions with prices starting from £195,000. A one-bedroom flat for sale will cost from £275,000, although ex- local authority flats start from £230,000. For two bedroom flats buyers can expect to pay more than £350,000, although ex local authority flats are for sale from £300,000 and a garden flat in Thornton Avenue SW2, for example, will cost just under £350,000.

There is also newly built properties for sale through Marsh & Parsons in Balham and a one-bedroom, fourth floor flat in Latitude on Clapham Southside SW4 will cost a little more than £350,000 and a two-bedroom flat in Gateway House on Balham Hill SW12 will cost about £420,000.

Houses for sale start at about £500,000, for which you can expect to get a modern three-bedroom house close to Tooting Bec Common. For families looking for more accommodation, Marsh & Parsons is selling four bedroom 1930s' semi-detached houses on Poynders Road SW4 for just under £600,000 – the added benefit of such properties is that they all have large gardens. Prices in the SW17 postcode around Tooting Bec are slightly lower than Balham and five-bedroom Edwardian houses here sell for around £600,000. Nightingale Triangle SW12 is one of the most popular areas of Balham and for £700,000 you could buy a four-bedroom family home on a road such as Bracken Avenue SW12. Ormeley Road SW12 is a quiet residential street close to the heart of Balham and here four-bedroom houses sell for about £750,000.

The Balham branch of Marsh & Parsons also sells property in Brixton and a large five-bedroom family home in Helix Gardens SW2 will cost a touch under £800,000.

Nightingale Square SW12 is one of the very best addresses in Balham with houses overlooking the communal gardens – they also have private gardens selling for as much as £1.5 million. Although some houses in Balham come with parking spaces, resident's permits – like most things from Lambeth Borough Council – are cheap and cost just £75 for 12 months. Or for the same amount if you are in the Wandsworth Borough Council.

What else can you expect from Balham?

Balham and its surrounds have a buzzing and trendy nightlife and is home to London's longest-running brewery, so it is only right that it has excellent pubs, which include: Gigalum, overlooking Clapham Common, which has a wonderful beer garden; The Duke of Devonshire, on Balham High Road SW12, which serves delicious Sunday roasts; The Nightingale, a great traditional pub with good food in the heart of Balham's "Millionaires' Row"; The George with leather sofas, pub grub and a TV showing Sky Sports; and The Grove, a recently refurbished pub with a dining room on Oldridge Road SW12. Balham's social scene has always been at the cutting edge and the Banana Comedy Club held at the Bedford Pub was the springboard for the careers of Al Murray, Eddie Izard, and Mark Thomas.

For more formal dining, there is Newtons on Abbeville Road, which serves European cuisine with a hint of Thai; Double Espresso on Station Parade SW12, serves probably the best pizzas in London; Nanglo on Balham High Road is Nepalese – not to be confused with Indian, which is served by the ever-popular Bombay Bicycle Club on Nightingale Lane SW12. For fans of belly dancing and Persian food, Dish Dash holds classes every Wednesday night as well as a stylish bar. Restaurant critics have piled gushing praise on Exhibit near Balham Tube station and it is home to the stylish twentysomethings and media types who flock there most nights for the food, cocktails and DJ. Every Tuesday, it shows a movie, dinner and film package costing just £15.95.

Shopping in Balham has improved dramatically, not only with the arrival of Waitrose and Marks & Spencer but also a host of independent boutiques, which include Fifi Wilson's women's fashion shop and Josephine Ryan interiors. There are also three street markets in the area at Hildreth Street SW12, Battersea High Street SW11 and Northcote Road SW11. For the more active pursuits there are of course the three commons, as well as cricket pitches, angling ponds, Australian Rules football, tennis courts, cycle paths, leisure centres and gyms. Tooting Lido is the biggest open-air pool in Europe – and the coldest – and is open between May 26 and September 30. The Central London Golf Centre in Wandsworth has a nine-hole course, driving range and golf shop.

Balham it seems really does have it all!