Wimbledon, Earlsfield and Colliers Wood will be the boom property markets of the millennium as other parts of south-west London become too expensive for traditional home buyers, according to Wimbledon and Fulham estate agent Richard Bowden of Bowden Property Services.

With houses in Wimbledon which only three years ago cost £115,000 now fetching more than £200,000, home hunters are increasingly turning towards flats in Wimbledon and property in outlying areas to find value for money, he says.

Bowden Property Services has just opened a new satellite office in Merton Park and the company is planning further office openings later this summer in Earlsfield and Morden.

"Earlsfield," he says, "has Battersea written all over it. The influx of retailers and service industries like Café Rouge and Weatherspoons, together with some modern and fashionable shops and delicatessens, shows the business community believes Earlsfield is a place for the future. Colliers Wood is also beginning to see more business investment with a new retail and leisure park being built and modernisation of the High Street taking place.

"Traditionally overlooked by homebuyers who have previously been able to buy in more fashionable areas of London's south west, Colliers Wood now offers exceptional value for money as property prices elsewhere continue their apparently unending upwards spiral.

Although Colliers Wood may not be as upmarket as Wimbledon, it is nearby and will soon attract buyers who would otherwise have bought into the Wimbledon market," he said.

"Areas to the north and east of Colliers Wood are more expensive than Colliers Wood itself, yet Colliers Wood is not a large area," said Richard Bowden. "There is continuing redevelopment in the High Street and yet the area is still relatively cheap. As property prices go up and up, we will get to a stage where first time buyers will have to look further afield, and Colliers Wood is the next best place."

This, he believes, has fuelled price rises in Colliers Wood of up to 20 per cent during the past 12 months, and with increases larger than this in areas such as Balham, Streatham and Tooting, Richard Bowden believes Colliers Wood prices still have further to go.

Earlsfield and Colliers Wood will also benefit from increased "local identification". As homebuyers, retailers and businesses move in and improve property, the areas will increasingly develop their own character and personalities, making them more appealing to purchasers who will more easily be able to identify with the localities.

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