Commutable new homes within ten miles of Birmingham

With its position at the heart of the country, and ambitions to become one of the top 20 most liveable cities in the world within the next 20 years, Birmingham looks set to become an increasingly popular place to set up home. Britain's second-largest city already has a great deal to offer - being a major international commercial centre, and a key transport, retail and conference hub. And with an impressive choice of new apartments and houses for sale the city's suburbs and nearby commuter towns, buyers there are spoilt for choice.

On the south side of the city, Lovell Homes has developed a collection of two-bedroom apartments and two- to four-bedroom homes at The Edge in Kings Heath, priced from £150,408 to £187,950. Geared towards convenient, stress-free contemporary living, the development is close to Kings Heath high street for easy day-to-day shopping, and plenty of primary and secondary schools for those with children. A range of buyer incentives are available, including the Government-backed FirstBuy shared equity scheme, enabling first-time buyers to purchase a home with a deposit of just five per cent. Birmingham city centre is about five miles away, and there's easy access to the M42, which offers great links to the M5 and M40 for trips further afield.

About 10 miles south of Birmingham city centre, close to the M5 and other main roads linking nearby towns and cities, Redrow's New Heritage Collection of substantial family homes at Great Park looks set to be popular with commuters. Offering a range of characterful four-, five- and six-bedroom homes priced from £249,995 to £359,995, features such as bay windows and roofed porches aim to capture the essence of traditional British housebuilding - while at the same time offering the best in modern living.

Also south of Birmingham, in prestigious Edgbaston, Taylor Wimpey's Highfield Gardens is a unique development of less than 60 apartments, mews houses and coach houses hidden away in a leafy area - yet just five minutes' drive from Birmingham city centre. Priced from £159,995 to £350,000, the FirstBuy scheme is also available at this development. For families, there are well-respected schools nearby, while for commuters Five Ways Station is less than 20 minutes' walk away, and it's just a few miles to the city centre.

At the crossroads of the nation's motorway network, eight miles north-west of Birmingham in West Bromwich, David Wilson Homes has created a range of contemporary two- to five-bedroom homes at their award-winning Churchfields Place development. Offering easy access to the M5, M6, M40 and M42 motorways, and priced from £95,000 to £425,000, these new homes are set against the impressive backdrop of Sandwell Valley Country Park and Golf club, and are close to pedestrianised West Bromwich town centre. Nearly a quarter of the borough is made up of woodland and parkland, and there are ten sports and leisure centres in the area to choose from, leaving plenty to pack into leisure time.

Buyers at Redrow's Great Park development in Bromsgrove have a choice of substantial family homes from the company's acclaimed New Heritage Collection and are within easy commuting distance of Birmingham city centre