Young professionals are being drawn to south west London for the lifestyle and proximity to the city, a survey has revealed.

Hard-working, career-minded 25 to 44-year-olds who are educated to degree level or beyond are most likely to settle in the SW19 postcode area according to the survey by the Lloyds Banking Group.

Most of those who live in the SW19 area are well paid, it said, which is no surprise when it states Wimbledon’s average house price is £534,999.

Another area proving to be popular with young professionals is Battersea, where property prices soar to an average of £732,000 while in Clapham the figure is £674,422 for an average property based on Land Registry figures to January of this year.

In many of the areas most fashionable with young professionals the smaller types of properties such as flats are the most popular.

The survey states detached properties account for a much smaller proportion of homes purchased in the most popular areas for young professionals, most probably reflecting their higher price.

Merton’s Chamber of Commerce welcomed the trend towards younger people living in the area as it is a good boost for businesses looking to recruit young, well qualified people.

Diana Sterck, Merton Chamber CEO said: "It is good news for local businesses who can tap into this local pool of talent.

"We want businesses to grow in the borough and we want more local people to get local jobs.

"This can only be a positive impact for business."

The survey states half of the 20 most popular areas it identified for ‘young urbanite professionals’ are in London’s SW postal district.

Apart from Wimbledon the other areas include Fulham, Wandsworth, Battersea, Streatham and Tooting.

If the bright lights of the city are too much, south west London is perfect for being able to access central London but live somewhere a bit less crowded.

A diverse range of leisure activities including sports, restaurants and bars all secure south west London as a property hot-spot.

Marc Page, Lloyds Bank mortgages director, 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 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."