Colin and Justin's Property of the Week

Two-bedroom apartment, Birmingham, £169,950 11/05/2008

The Agent says: This immaculate two-bedroom, third-floor apartment is in Heritage Court, a fabulous development in Birmingham’s historic Jewellery Quarter. It has a reception hall, living-dining room, kitchen, main bedroom with en suite, second bedroom, shower room and storage. It comes with secure parking.

UPS: A good location a mile from the city centre.

DOWNS: No big city views.

-Knight Frank, 0121 200 2220

The boys say: We won’t win too many fans when we report that the Jewellery Quarter in bustling Birmingham ISN’T our favourite district. And, having lived in Hockley (as the area is also known) we SO know what we’re talking about.

So what’s our gripe? Well, to be honest, it’s not that big a deal but we found ourselves at a loss

for things to do when the local goldsmiths

and diamond merchants scuttled home after hours. By day “JQ” throbs… but by night it’s a different affair.

To be honest, we lived there several years ago  and to give it its due much has changed. In our day we had to travel to the local petrol station just to buy milk! Yup, local retail was strictly limited…

For anything else we’d venture into the city (only a few minutes away) or to The Mailbox, an über-hip shopping mall that boasts Harvey Nicks as its flagship.

For chow, we’d grab a 15-minute cab to Harborne to visit one of many boutique-style eateries or we’d beat a path to the canalside at Brindleyplace, which has endless restaurants.

These days the Jewellery Quarter has a few more cafés and bars but we can’t help but think there’s scope for much, much more. So perhaps now is still a good time to buy into this cute, if quiet, wee district.

For your money you’ll find an immaculate two-bedroom apartment with a south-facing balcony, on the third floor of Heritage Court, an attractive development designed to complement the rich local architecture.

There’s a reception hall and a living/dining room and a separate fully-fitted kitchen.

The main bedroom features an en suite and  there’s a comfy second bedroom as well as a house shower.

Because of its proximity to the centre, the district shows consistent rental yield. A further feature is the secure, allocated parking – a positive asset in Britain’s Second City.

If accessibility to transport links is important to you, New Street station is a 10-minute cab ride away. And you’re not fussed about having a host of amenities on your doorstep, then perhaps this is the home for you.

If you fancy something a little livelier, then invest your money in a canalside city centre pad. But it could cost you as much as 50 per cent more…