Property Essentials: The best postcodes in town

Sep 30 2006

By Emma Pinch

In the first of a special series leading up to the launch of The Birmingham Post's new property magazine on Friday October 6, Emma Pinch considers the question of the best postcode in Birmingham. Today we look at Barnt Green, Edgbaston and Sutton Coldfield, with the best property for sale in each Birmingham is bristling with every type of dwelling to suit every quirk of taste. From vertiginous, mirror-clad apartments to canal-side condominiums, to leafy Victorian enclaves curling round red-brick universities. What most people dream of it seems is a place with the sights, sounds and space of the countryside - with a caveat that it is all within easy commuting distance of the city centre. But there's a price to pay for all those ticked boxes - and it's one that continues to rise steadily, whatever the meandering of the rest of the property market. Three of the top Birmingham property postcodes are: B45 (Barnt Green), B74 (Sutton Coldfield) and B15 (Edgbaston). The average price of property in Barnt Green is £499,000, while in Sutton it is £324,000. The average house price in Edgbaston came in at £351,000. Sutton is the undisputed king of the property hotspots possessing as it does the lion's share of properties over the £500,000 mark and the most homes topping £1 million. According to Andrew Spittle, a property expert from DHZ Residential, Birmingham, there is a common thread joining Birmingham's prime sites. "People generally want high quality housing on large plots," said Mr Spittle. "They have mature trees creating a nice, leafy, low density environment, with big detached houses, and in areas which have escaped being developed for industrial use. "Ideally there's also a good quality village centre, or town centre with a parade of shops with the essential facilities reasonably close by, which is attractive to residents." Barnt Green FOR SALE: Elmwood Cottage, 39 Mearse Lane, Barnt Green. Offers around £650,000.This charming, detached three-bedroomed cottage is set in abundant gardens and offers the owner a high degree of privacy. Downstairs in its timber beamed interior it contains a hall, cloakroom with WC, fitted kitchen/breakfast room plus a utility room and three reception rooms all with feature fireplaces. Upstairs are three double bedrooms and a family bathroom. There is also a garage. Robert Oulsnam and Co, Barnt Green. High-end goods but parking is a low point In Barnt Green's most exclusive thoroughfare, Mease Street, number 27 recently went for £1,600,000. Winding through the trees past the city limits and over the border into Worcestershire, you are only a stone's throw from Longbridge, but with the lush Lickey Hills on your doorstep you would hardly know it. Barnt Green's wide high street was terraced cottages before the ground floors were sold off as shops last century and their high-end goods reflect the residents' tastes and interests. There's an antique restorer, a delicatessen, a florist's, a plethora of estate agents of course, plus an acupuncturist's and dentist and a clutch of beauty salons. On Hewell Road, the only High Street chain stores are a Threshers and a Tesco Express - Tesco will find you wherever you live - but there's not a Subway or a Woolworths to be seen. Complaints about Barnt Green include the lack of parking - residents say it takes custom away to nearby Bromsgrove - and a flurry of infill developments, which put a strain on infrastructure. While it isn't twee, there's a wholesomeness about Barnt Green, which has only 750 homes, including those of former Wolves and England footballer Geoff Thomas, and former West Bromwich Albion and Aston Villa manager Ron Atkinson. The phone boxes here are just as BT always meant them to be - scratch-free and Phlexiglass intact, and there are a host of extra-curricular clubs to Sutton Coldfield. FOR SALE: Reighton House Little Aston Park. Squirrel Walk. £1,150,000. This is a very spacious, modern family home which lies well back from the road. It includes a reception hall, guest cloakroom, master bedroom with en-suite dressing room and bathroom, guest bedroom with en-suite dressing room, plus three further double bedrooms and a family bathroom. Downstairs there is also a drawing room, study, snooker/entertaining room, dining room, re-fitted breakfast kitchen and preparation kitchen, an L-shaped family room. Attached to the property is a double garage and well maintained mature gardens. Quantrills Estate Agents, Sutton Coldfield A wealthy world away Sutton is less than ten miles from Birmingham, but wealthy enclaves such as Little Aston and Four Oaks are a world away from its workaday neighbours. Perched on the edge of the wilds of Sutton Park, homes on these private estates are a mecca for businessmen and footballers. Long, gravelly drives provide lots of space - and a satisfying crunch when the homeowners lurch to a halt in their BMW X5s, Mini Coopers and Land Rover Discoveries -and are a haven from the prying eyes. Doug Ellis lives in Four Oaks, along with most of the Aston Villa team past and present, as do civic luminaries such as Sir Michael Lyons. Cat Deeley, Helen Baxendale and Trevor Eve are all from Sutton; Henry VIII hunted there and for real glamour, Penns Hall Hotel stood in for ITV's Crossroads motel. During the 70s, when ATV was the centre of the broadcasting world, Roger Moore and Denis Waterman ;lived there. Sutton became popular in the 19th century when industrialists chose to live there because of its proximity by rail to the Black Country and Birmingham. Jacquie Harvey, manager of Green and Company distinctive homes, based in Four Oaks, said Sutton Park, the schools and the golf clubs meant property it was phenomenally popular. "All of the schools are good, at all levels and people prefer to invest in property and send their children to a good local school." Edgbaston FOR SALE: 4 St Augustines Road, Edgbaston, Birmingham, £535,000. The Victorian family home, close to St Augustine's church, and just two miles from the city centre boasts four bedrooms, reception hall with stained glass windows, a drawing room with open fireplace, a dining room, cloakroom, fitted kitchen/breakfast room plus a butler's pantry, a lobby and a cellar. French doors open onto a terrace and mature west-facing gardens and occupies about 2,200sq ft. Knight Frank. If leafy and large is your taste and you're loaded The place to live if your tastes tend toward leafy and large and your bank account tends toward loaded. But it's also for those who want the cornucopia of cultural activities that Birmingham city centre offers and who are unwilling to waste an hour a day on the commuter crawl. Edgbaston escaped industrial development in Victorian times thanks to the efforts of Birmingham landowner Calthorpe Estates. The Calthorpes decided to focus on developing high quality housing rather than factories and workshops which went to other parts of the city. Edgbaston has a highly cultural ambiance, thanks in no small part to the existence of the sprawling university buildings which pepper its tree-lined streets. There are the Botanical Gardens in Westbourne Road, the famous Edgbaston Tennis Club, the Barber Institute and the Warwickshire County Cricket Club ground a short stroll across the Bristol Road. In Farquar Road, two properties - numbers 6 and 18 - have this year gone for well over £1 million, with the former home selling for £1.8 million. It brings the average house price of the road up to £808,000. "Edgbaston is on the edge of the city centre but it still has those tree-lined avenues you find in Barnt Green," said Andrew Spittle. "It might not have a village high street but it is suitable for people who want those features, but still want the attributes of city living."