Investing in a property in London is one of the best investments you can make as of today, with north-west London consistently leading the market.

Camden Town - the gateway to north London - borders Regents Park on its west side and is a convenient half hour's walk from Oxford Street. At weekends, the high street turns into a sea of people, jostling their way through the shops and market stalls, adding charm to the place. But away from the hustle-bustle there are odd Regency squares and crescents where intact houses sell for well over £1 million. Top of the range Regents Park Road, home to such literatti as Jonathan Miller and Alan Bennett, commands even higher prices. Elsewhere, Georgian terraces rub shoulders with ‘60s purpose built blocks and this diverse mix makes Camden more affordable than other, equally central areas. One-bedroom period conversions still sell for under £200k and additional rooms add about £100k each to the price. Camden has a good stock of ex-Local Authority housing too, which sells for approximately 75 per cent of period counterparts.

Next to the west of Camden Town is Primrose Hill, the jewel in the north London crown. The preferred choice of the glitterati, it's a small network of white stuccoes splendor sandwiched between Regents Park and Gloucester Avenue. A one-bedroom flat won't leave you with much change from £500k and a good-sized family home a la Jude and Sadie costs up to £2m.

But if you don’t mind crossing over Gloucester Avenue to Chalk Farm, you can find similar, if not smaller properties at less than half the price. The Old Bus Depot, a neo-Victorian housing development, offers particularly good value for money, with three bed semi-detached houses with garden and parking facility costing well under £500k. Travel one stop further up on the tube and you'll find Belsize Park, another salubrious suburb of North London, but somewhere between Camden Town and Primrose Hill for prices.

Alternatively, a short walk across Regents Park brings you to Maida Vale, a broad road that intersects north-west London and a highly desirable area in its own right. Wide, leafy avenues are adorned with large detached/semi-detached period houses and mansion blocks that have become synonymous with 'old money' propriety. Prices are roughly 25 per cent higher than Camden Town, although the current redevelopment of the nearby Paddington Basin could plump up prices even more.

Hardly a run-down slum in the first place, Paddington is undergoing a multi-million pound face-lift to attract residents and business into its converted offices and new blocks. Superb for transport, it connects the capital to the West Country and has high-speed rail links to both Gatwick and Heathrow.

Amidst all the activity, however, is a surprise pocket of residential serenity and one of north-west London's best-kept secrets - Little Venice. A square mile of exclusivity based property around the Regents canal basin, and its Victorian villas and mansion blocks are dotted with bars, restaurants and specialist shops. Prices are on par with Primrose Hill, though it is occasionally possible to buy one of the colourful houseboats moored by the canal, which are considerably cheaper.

But considerably cheaper still means very expensive in London and a high price doesn't necessarily guarantee bigger room. Space is the key issue and bigger will always sell better when it comes to moving on. So if you can afford larger rooms, it is money well spent. Full structural surveys are wise investments too as much of north and north-west London suffers from subsidence. So take precaution to ensure that the cost of your new home doesn't rise even higher.