A report last week revealed that the south Manchester constituency of Withington had seen a 65 per cent increase in the number of high rollers wanting to live there - the fourth fastest growing affluent area in the entire country. North Manchester did not figure in the Barclays survey and the only place north of the city showing an influx of the new rich was Bolton west. So why does Manchester have its own north/south divide and will the northern areas ever have the same cachet as the southern hot-spots? Here two estate agents argue it out. THE CASE FOR THE NORTH
Melissa Berry, 29, has lived in Prestwich all her life and been an agent there for the last decade. . . "If you are about to buy in south Manchester, stop! Take a trip north of the city and see how much more your money buys you up here.
"The premium people seem prepared to pay just to live in places that are currently fashionable makes no sense to me at all, especially when you bother to look at what areas actually have. They are blinkered to the benefits of living in towns like Prestwich, Whitefield, Monton and Worsley which all have their own identity and village feel and offer much better value for money than their opposite numbers in the south.
"Take Prestwich. The village centre has been transformed with a new M&S, new shopping centre, Pizza Express and big Tesco store. New top class apartments are being built right in the centre which will have trendy shops and bars underneath and there are still good local individual shops, so it has lost none of the character.
"And, crucially, the housing is good. The large Victorian properties in Guest Road and Nursery Road rival anything that can be found in Didsbury but at around é400,000 they are approximately half the price - for roughly the same thing!
"We are way ahead when it comes to transport. We already have the Metrolink tram system, the drive into Manchester is on a good straight road which is much better than the daily battle many are prepared to put up with just to live in the south. The motorway access is also brilliant. You can be on your way in literally two minutes and places like Leeds and the Lake District are much easier to get to.
"We also win when it comes to green spaces with the largest municipal park in Europe, Heaton Park, on our doorstep and there's Philips Park and Prestwich Clough as well. Go to Didsbury and Chorlton and people seem happy to sit at small tables on narrow pavements with all the traffic and fumes in their face. Up here you can get out and sit in much nicer places and breathe fresh air not fug.
"Just up the road, Whitefield has some magnificent houses, many over é1million, lots of modern apartments and again its own character. Further west, Worsley is incredibly green, with lovely wide tree-lined roads with great character properties and Roe Green more than rivals Chorlton Green.
"You can buy a nice two-bedroom terrace with front garden near to Heaton Park for around é85-é90,000 and nearer the village around é100,000 - much more affordable than in places like Withington and Didsbury.
"And you have a better chance of capital appreciation here because the area is still maturing while the southern hot-spots may have had their day. People are beginning to see sense!"
THE CASE FOR THE SOUTH
Martin Moston is regional manager for Bridgfords and lives in Bramhall.
"South of the city has a sophistication and a style that the north can never match and I think it will always be that way.
"Students come to the city to study and live in places like Levenshulme and Rusholme. When they start work they stay in those areas and progress south to better areas and better houses as they go up the ladder. The progression is always south - never north.
"South Manchester has better schooling, with Manchester Grammar and Altrincham Grammar, and good communications which attract businesses which in turn bring in high-paid workers. It is close to all the motorway network and, crucially, close to the airport.
"Didsbury is still phenomenally busy, people want to be there. It is bright and lively with a good mix of professional people and, let's face it, people want to live among like-minded people.
"Within a five-mile radius you have some really trendy places to live which have great restaurants, good bars, nice shops and a good feel. North of the city may have little pockets of sophistication but nothing like on the scale of south Manchester and until it does it will not be able to compete. People need to be able to choose where they are going to eat or go out for the night, not be forced to go to the same place because there is nothing else.
"Why do you think all the footballers choose to live in the south, all the successful businessmen and women and entrepreneurs? I suppose there is a certain amount of snobbery and maybe all the flash money lives south of the city but that, in a way, is another attraction. If you have a é2m pile in the centre of Bramhall everyone knows but if you have a é2m barn conversion in the middle of Bolton moors no-one knows about it. People in the south like to be seen to be successful. The south is much more densely populated and much more showy.
"It may be true that the influx of new affluents has pushed up prices and it is difficult for first-time buyers. A two-bed terrace in Didsbury village will be é180,000 to é210,000 but you can get a three bed ex-council house semi in west Didsbury or Burnage for é120,000.
"The big Victorian and Edwardian houses in Didsbury itself are unique and command very high prices, up to é800,000, but they always sell.
"The natural progression has always been south and I don't see that changing!"
