Houses in Acton are often large Victorian or Edwardian properties, many of which were converted into flats in the later 20th century. Houses tend to be found in Victorian enclaves between major roads or railway lines, rather than spreading right through the area. Its attractions are that it is quite close into London, and well served by transport links, and it has well regarded schools, including the Japanese school and King Fahad Academy.

Gunnersbury (a small area between Gunnersbury Lane, Uxbridge Road, and Gunnersbury Avenue) is an attractive area with large detached houses and gardens almost in Ealing. Gunnersbury Park is on the other side of Gunnersbury Avenue and it is close to Acton town tube station. Acton town on the other side of Gunnersbury Lane (also called South Acton) contains Edwardian houses in the Mill Hill Park conservation area. The South Acton estate is a large council estate.

North of the High Street is Acton Central (although the train station called Acton Central is some distance away to the Acton Central is the area between Hangar Lane Uxbridge Road and Horn Lane. This conservation area contains attractive family house. To the east near Horn Lane there is another group of attractive houses. It becomes less attractive as you go north towards the railway lines, but there are some 1930s houses in the streets just below the railway lines. Above the railway lines and you are into West Acton which contains the Hangar Hill Garden Estate, now a conservation area, built in the 1930s in mock Tudor style. But otherwise, this part of Acton is heavily chopped up by railway lines. Off Horn Lane is an area called Poets Corner because many of the streets are named after famous English poets. This area contains terraced houses in an attractive setting. Further north, above Eastern Avenue, come north Acton and East Acton which contains a smattering of nice period houses, but the area is generally commercial.

Acton Green has a claim to be inside Chiswick - it has the W4 postal code – and houses there are often described by estate agents’ particulars as being in “Chiswick Park”, after the local tube station. The area is divided from the main part of Acton by the railway lines and Acton Green extends roughly to St Albans Avenue in the east. The properties in the area was mostly built in the late Victorian and early Edwardian eras. Apart from the original houses, there have been a number of new mews developments in recent years. In contrast to neighbouring Bedford Park, many of the terraced properties have been converted into flats. Some of the streets are very close to the railway lines, but that does not stop flats there being popular. There are also a few mansion blocks and individual new houses. Acton Lane is the spine of the area off which the streets of Acton Green run east and west. To the east are roads such as Kingscote Road and Savile Road. To the west is Church Path and roads off it such as Rothschild Road and Antrobus Road. Near the railway lines there are some converted warehouses, and “Chiswick View” is a block of flats created out of a former transformer station. There are modern mews developments off Church Path.

Possibly the best residential area in Balham is the so-called Nightingale Triangle — the streets between Nightingale Lane, Balham High Road, and the railway lines. The centre is Nightingale Square which contains large Victorian houses. Ramsden Road runs down through the centre of the triangle and divides it in half. It contains Victorian terraces. On the west side of Ramsden Road there are attractive Victorian terraces in streets such as Ravenslea Road, Mayford Road, Chestnut Grove, and the roads off them. To the east of Ramsden Road, there are smaller cottages in roads like Bellamy Street, Pickets Street and Temperley Road.

The roads from Balham High Road east to Cavendish Road contain many attractive period terraces. Yukon and Dinsmore Roads are in a conservation area, as are Old Devonshire Road and Old Balham Road. Beyond Cavendish Road is the Hyde Farm estate between Hydethorpe Road and Tooting Common as far as Redbourne Road. The houses here are almost identical terraces of medium-sized red-brick Victorian houses.

Between Bedford Hill and Tooting Common there are attractive houses in Culverden Road, which borders the Common. There is more mixed housing between Balham High Road and Bedford Hill. Between Balham High Road and Trinity Road is another desirable residential area. St James’s Drive has large houses overlooking Wandsworth Common. Balham Park Road contains the largest and possibly the most expensive Victorian houses in Balham. This is also an area for mansion blocks. Du Cane Court on Balham High Road is a huge 1930s block. Other roads such as Cecil and Marius Roads also contain mansion blocks.