Wandsworth, lying west of central London, is a largely residential area and wealthier than the London average. It is a vibrant area made up of many young and middle-aged professionals and families, and has become home to many restaurants, boutiques and bars as well as high-street staples. It is the largest inner London borough, with a population of just under 300,000. The borough takes in parts of the SW4, SW8, SW12, SW15, SW16, SW17 and SW19 postcodes and all of SW11 and SW18. The former iconic Battersea Power Station dominates the local skyline, and the borough draws together riverside living, leafy commons and some of the capital's best-regarded schools.

• Council Tax for a Band D property is £709.15.
• The borough incorporates 1,956 streets.
• Almost 93% of businesses in Wandsworth employ fewer than 10 staff (compared with 89% across London and Great Britain).
• Five bridges join Wandsworth to the three London boroughs on the north side of the Thames.
• There are nine Overground stations within the borough and six Tube stations.
• At its widest point the borough measures roughly 7.2 miles by 8.7 miles.
• It is home to the UK's tallest bungee jump, a 300ft leap from the Observation Tower in Adrenaline Village.

There are five main town centres in Wandsworth, each with its own distinct character.

Close to the River Thames and home to the iconic Battersea Power Station, the open space of Battersea Park and the Battersea Dogs & Cats Home, this former industrial area has been transformed from "unpopular" into "affordably affluent". Quiet residential streets sit beside thriving high streets full of shops, restaurants and bars, backed by high-quality schools and excellent links into central London. Two Overground stations serve the area in Zone 2, and it will be connected to the Tube network once the planned Northern line extension is complete.

Fast links into London and a strong choice of local bars and cafés draw the young professional crowd, while young families upsize from two-bedroom flats to three- and four-bedroom houses close to well-respected primary schools. Life here centres along Garratt Lane, which runs from Wandsworth to Tooting, and on the Southside Shopping Centre, with high-street names such as Next, Oliver Bonas and Waterstones alongside a 14-screen cinema, gym and restaurants. Green space is generous too, with Garratt Green, Garratt Park and King George's Park offering some 55 acres of playing fields, a lake, sports pitches, tennis courts and a children's playground, while nearby Wandsworth Common connects Earlsfield with Battersea and attracts locals for dog walking, cycling and running.

Set on the south bank of the River Thames, leafy Putney is popular with young families and professionals seeking peace and quiet while staying within Zone 2. A mixture of period architecture and contemporary riverside developments is complemented by good local shops and restaurants, and by easy access to the green space of Putney Heath and Barnes Common. Transport is excellent, with the District line at Putney Bridge station and mainline trains from Putney reaching Waterloo in as little as 15 minutes. There is also a popular bus route straight to Piccadilly and the West End (the No. 22), while the A3 runs at the top of Putney Hill, providing fast access to the M25, Surrey and Hampshire. Home to more than 20 rowing clubs, Putney is also the starting point of the University Boat Race.

In the heart of leafy south-west London, Southfields is best known as home to the All England Lawn Tennis Club. It sits in the valley of the River Wandle, between Wandsworth and Wimbledon commons, with a good supply of Victorian and Edwardian family houses, most within the catchment of good state primary schools. Its Underground station on the District line links to London Victoria in as little as 23 minutes, and nearby Wimbledon Park tube station (on Arthur Road, also Zone 3, on the District line) adds a further connection, making it a well-connected and enduringly popular choice.

Just one stop from Balham, Tooting is fast seeing the same gentrification as its Northern line neighbour. Bustling and eclectic, with attractive period architecture and quick transport links, it divides into three characterful parts: busy, multicultural Tooting Broadway, the quieter and generally more desirable Tooting Bec, and the family-dominated Furzedown. Tooting Commons consists of two large green spaces divided by Doctor Johnson's Avenue, offering a mix of woodland and grassland and home to Tooting Bec Lido, with its 90-metre swimming pool, and the Tooting Bec Athletics Track. Young families are drawn by the large period homes of Furzedown and the highly recommended local schools. First-time buyers who start out renting further up the Northern Line in Clapham and Balham often buy in Tooting to get more for their money.

Named after the River Wandle, Wandsworth Town sits where the river meets the Thames. Roads of Victorian and Edwardian detached, semi-detached and terraced houses and cottages now sit alongside new riverside flats built on the former industrial land by the Thames. There is a good range of shops, Ofsted-rated schools and popular pubs and restaurants, but the main attraction is space: Wandsworth Common spans 175 acres of open parkland, complete with tennis courts, a lake and a play area. Wandsworth Town station, in Zone 2, offers rail services into Waterloo and out to Richmond and Weybridge, while Wandsworth Common station, in Zone 3, provides services to Victoria and London Bridge, keeping the town centre firmly within easy reach of the City and West End.

Nestled between Clapham Common, Wandsworth Common and Tooting Common, Balham has brilliant transport links, with both an Overground station and a Tube station on the Northern line, both in Zone 3. Families are drawn by the schools, while young professionals come for the lively social scene and the wide choice of properties, from smart Victorian houses and terraces to conversion flats and maisonettes. High-street chains and well-supported independent shops line Balham Station Road, Bedford Hill and Balham High Road, and former residents have included Vivienne Westwood, football pundit Jimmy Hill and TV scriptwriter John O'Sullivan.

Education is one of Wandsworth's biggest draws. At both primary and secondary levels, the schools watchdog Ofsted rates around 92% of the borough's schools as good or outstanding — well ahead of the 80% London average and roughly 74% nationally — placing Wandsworth in the top 10 on both counts out of 151 local authorities nationally for the quality of its schools. Investment has kept pace with demand: since 2010, 25 extra reception classes have been opened at some of the most popular and highest-achieving schools to meet the growing demand from parents.

Three new free schools have launched to add to that choice. In Tooting, the free school in Franciscan Road is sponsored by the hugely popular Graveney School, which has a longstanding reputation as one of the country's best state schools. Rutherford House in Balham is a non-selective, non-denominational, co-educational school set up by the Place education consultancy and sponsored by the Bellevue Education Group, committed to "providing a broad and exciting education in a happy environment and doing everything possible to help every child fulfil their potential". The Mosaic Jewish Primary school admits half of its pupils on non-religious grounds and wants its pupils to "become lifelong learners inspired by a love of 'learning for the sake of learning'".

At secondary level, the borough is home to some of the nation's top performers: Southfields Community College and Chestnut Grove School recorded the fifth and ninth highest scores respectively out of 3,196 state secondaries in the Contextual Value Added league table. Ernest Bevin College in Tooting was named the fifth most improved school in the country, with GCSE results rising 35% over the past four years.

Wandsworth had the lowest crime rate in inner London, with the number of offences continuing to fall, according to research and strategy consultancy The Local Futures Group — reinforcing the borough's reputation as a safe area, attractive to incoming investors as well as residents.

The borough is exceptionally well connected by Underground, Overground and rail, with Clapham Junction alone offering fast links across London and to the South. Add expansive commons, riverside walks and a thriving café, pub and restaurant scene, and it is easy to see why Wandsworth is one of South West London's most popular places to live.

For advice on buying, selling or letting across Wandsworth, please contact our team at our Battersea office.