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PECKHAM IS THE NEW SHOREDITCH

Hipsters of east London, take note: it’s time to move south. Once an urban wasteland with high crime rates and no culture, SE15 is now emerging as an arts hub for the capital. There’s even a science bit to its up-and-comingness: locals point to the “436 Theory” — the bus route of that number passes by many of London’s key art colleges, including Chelsea, the London College of Communication, Camberwell and Goldsmiths, and its relatively cheap property prices mean Peckham has become a magnet for the next generation of Tracey Emins

Transport has become even better with the completion this month of the London Overground line linking Peckham Rye with Clapham and Whitechapel, and John Ennis of estate agents Foxtons picked the area as one of his top tips for next year. “There are some really beautiful houses to snap up and refurbish and there’s already an overspill from people looking in East Dulwich,” he says.

Need any more persuading? German arts magazine Sleek recently bigged up Peckham on its cover and ran a long feature extolling its trendy vibe, galleries and pubs, including the boho Bar Story.

Average price of a one-bed flat: £189,271

Average price of a three-bed house: £330,604

CLAPTON IS THE NEW CLAPHAM

Once known as “murder mile”, Upper Clapton Road and the surrounding area has been undergoing something of a renaissance recently and is one of the hot property tips for the next 12 months on the London Loves Business website. Families, in particular, are being lured from the traditional nappy valley areas of Clapham, Battersea and Wandsworth by lower house prices and airy, Victorian conversions.

Chatsworth Road in lower Clapton is awash with delis, wine bars and a food market, while the area’s schools have benefited from multi-million-pound cash injections which have seen exam results soar.

Nearby Springfield Park boasts sports facilities, a yummy mummy café, allotments and even an old-fashioned bandstand, and the postcode is also seeing some of the Olympics bounce.

The Clapton Hart Pub on Upper Clapton Road has undergone a similar transformation from rough drinking den to what London Loves Business describes as a “virtuoso exemplar of the trendy shabby-chic watering hole” that is populated by young families on a Sunday afternoon.

Average price of a one-bed flat: £223,650

Average price of a three-bed house: £403,333

ACTON IS THE NEW CHISWICK

This forgotten part of west London is tipped for big things with young professionals who want a W postcode without the price of neighbouring areas.

Rus in urbe: Acton Park, with its café and playground, is a family favourite John Ennis, of Foxtons, says: “I think this area is going to be fast out of the blocks next year — it’s ripe for gentrification and there are bargains to pick up if you’re prepared to look further than Ealing and Chiswick.”

A new leisure centre (including an Olympic-sized swimming pool), a library and community facilities are being built, and former local authority estates are being redeveloped into new homes. Crossrail is also set to stop at Acton Main Line, providing high-speed trains into the heart of the West End.

Media types have already moved there to escape soaring house prices in other parts of west London, and while good restaurants and bars are few and far between, you can be sure drink and gastropubs will follow. The Rocket, on Churchfield Road near Acton Central station, has had a reputation for good food for some time.

Average price of a one-bed flat: £240,932

Average price of a three-bed house: £526,106

STRATFORD IS THE NEW WHITECHAPEL

Well, for starters, there was that little thing called the Olympics... The area, once a polluted industrial wasteland, has been transformed by the Games. Described as “London’s newest neighbourhood”, the East Village development is already starting work on turning the former athletes’ accommodation into an area containing 3,000 new homes boasting sustainable living, world-class sports facilities and acres of wetlands and parks (although they are for rent and not for sale).

There’s also the giant Westfield shopping centre on your doorstep and, for EastEnders fans, there’s an even bigger attraction — the Royal Mail has given Stratford the E20 postcode used by fictional Walford.

Good transport connections and a multi-ethnic makeup are already attracting first-time buyers who’ve been priced out of Whitechapel.

Average price of a one-bed flat: £117,642

Average price of a three-bed house: £265,630

ARCHWAY IS THE NEW DALSTON

The poorer, shabbier sister to other north London postcodes is due to come into its own over the next year. “There’s a little crescent around Archway that hasn’t yet been gentrified like places nearby and property is going to go like a steam train next year,” says Ennis.

The N19 postcode is home to top gastropubs and bars but still retains an edge, which will make it attractive to people grumbling that Dalston has sold out, but who want a noisier alternative to sedate Hampstead.

On-trend Generation Ys will love the sprawling loft apartment refurbs, while Archway market is a hub for hipsters at the weekend, with a mix of fashion and organic food.

Average price of a one-bed flat: £315,800

Average price of a three-bed house: £406,333

Prices from Foxtons