This area of Glasgow has seen a 47 percent rise in demand for homes in one year

Now, it seems property hunters are fighting it out for new homes Battlefield area of Glasgow’s south side.

Interest in homes in the G42 area,which also takes in Govanhill, Queen’s Park, Langside and Mount Florida, has soared by 47% in the past year, according to Rightmove, while prices have surged by 35% over the past three years to a new record average of £149,593.

Lee Hardy, Associate Director of Tay Letting says a two-bedroomed flat in the area was recently let for £1150 a month. Another received 60 plus inquiries the day it went live.

“If you had said to me two years ago that you would be getting £1100 for a flat in Battlefield I would have laughed,” he says.

The hipsters are well and truly settled into the area

Glasgow City Council say there has been substantial public and private investment in the area in recent years, replicating other parts of the city such as Dennistoun and Finnieston which were not always seen as desirable.

Govanhill itself has experienced a flurry of openings of coffee shops, bars and restaurants as well as the re-opening of the B-listed Edwardian public bathhouse after a long-running community campaign.

“Battlefield, in particular, over the past two years has really boomed to the point where, it’s probably overtaken Shawlands, price wise,” said Mr Hardy.

“On one street alone we’ve got three two-bedroomed tenement flats that have achieved £1095 and one achieved £1150, six weeks ago.

“Even Govanhill, we had a one-bedroom flat that was renovated to a pretty high standard and is being listed at £650 per month.

"Obviously Govanhill has a reputation but to get £650 for a one-bedroom is exceptional.

“We had another off Victoria Road, which we got £750 for. With the lack of supply in the usual hotspots, I think people are just branching out now. 

“The west end had always commanded the highest rents but I think people seeing there is more value for money in the south side, which in turn has pushed the prices up.The demand far outweighs the supply. It's mainly young professionals and couples."

He said there has been an increase generally in people opting to rent rather than buy because of the post-Covid property boom. “I heard of one flat going for 23% over the home report last week.”

Business owners say cheaper rents and minimal rates (the council is keen to attract entrepreneurs) are luring them into the area.

Robbie Gray, 27, who owns Canary Girl Coffee Co on Cathcart Road, said: “In the past it was seen as a bad neighbourhood, but only be people who didn’t live here,” he says.

“They saw it like some sort of ghetto, mainly because it is culturally diverse. But that attitude is definitely changing.

“There used to be just one speciality cafe; now there are three or four,and a lot of the old-man pubs are being bought up by younger people and gentrified in a way.”

Mr Gray said the areas is also a “real stronghold” for the LGBTQ community, “which I think is a good indicator of the sort of gentrification which is happening.”

He said his only fear is that the area becomes too expensive to buy property.

Yvonne Kincaid, who lives in Battlefield with her husband and two children, says the area has been transformed since she moved there 17 years ago.

“The only hipster element back then was a Beanscene,” she says.

“With the huge Battlefield mural, in the design of the Barrowlands logo on Lochleven Road, the hipsters are well and truly settled into the area but that’s not a sleight, it’s meant to reflect the vibrancy and collective pride we have in the area.

“Lots of exciting clubs, pubs and restaurants are opening.” She says there is a real sense of community in the area, that isn’t always seen in the most affluent areas of the city.

“There is a feeling of a small village within the grid network of Battlefield, but even within its hinterland, we all seem to acknowledge each other and especially during lockdown, checked on  neighbours who were perhaps vulnerable.

“The local councillor Anna Richardson is hands on and a great asset to the area.”

A Glasgow City Council spokesperson said: “There has been substantial public and private investment in the wider area in recent years, with the results shown in improved infrastructure such as the South City Way and the new square at the south-west corner of Queen’s Park, as well as a transformed range of shops, bars and restaurants in areas such as Govanhill.  

“This investment has made the wider area increasingly attractive as a place in which to live, work, visit and invest, as evidenced by property values.”