Where are the housing hotspots for young professionals?

Smaller homes typically most popular property types

101 Pitt Crescent, London SW19 (Victoria Summerley/The Independent)

South West London, and in particular the SW19 post code, is the most attractive location for aspiring young professionals, according to a report from Lloyds Bank.

Half of the 20 most popular areas in England and Wales for young urbanite professionals aged 25 to 44 are in London’s SW postal district. Apart from Wimbledon the other areas include Fulham, Wandsworth, Battersea, Streatham and Tooting.

Indeed, 18 of the top 20 most desirable areas are also in the capital including Hampstead, Paddington and Kilburn. Hove and central Brighton take the other two spots.

Outside London and the South East, Didsbury in South Manchester is the biggest hotspot for young professionals, followed by Jesmond in Newcastle, Ecclesall in south west Sheffield and West Bridgford in Nottingham.

Properties in these popular areas typically come with a large premium. SW19 in Wimbledon has an average price of £534,999 and in the SW area in general there is a typical premium of £47,000 or 26 per cent.

Across the country, there is a similar trend with a 55 per cent premium in Didsbury compared with Manchester as a whole, a 37 per cent in Jesmond as opposed to Newcastle and 48 per cent in West Bridgford versus Nottingham in general.

In many of the areas that attract young professionals, smaller types of properties such as flats are the most popular - flats account for three quarters of all properties in Hove (BN3).

Marc Page, Lloyds Bank mortgages director, at Lloyds Bank, said: "Young professionals make up a decent proportion of the capital’s workforce and where they choose to live has a bearing on the local housing market. Our analysis suggests SW19 Wimbledon is the leading hot spot for young aspiring urbanites.

"Outside London the areas most popular with this segment of the population also tend to fit the profile. In the majority of cases, young buyers have to pay a significant premium for a property to live in these areas compared with living in other parts of the city."