Balham is a small and somewhat fuzzily-defined district south of the river Thames in London in the UK. It can be reached by a tube station of the same name on the Northern Line, and also by a British Rail (or mainline) station. Balham is mainly a residential area, with a busy main street with lots of shops. Since 2000, property prices have been rising in Balham thanks to the popularity of nearby Clapham; Clapham Common is a 10 minute walk away up the main street. As a result, the shops are getting steadily nicer and new bars and restaurants are opening all the time, making it a desirable place to live. Like many up-and-coming areas in London, it started out ethnically diverse but is rapidly becoming gentrified, a development greeted with mixed reactions by its residents.
Balham is north of Tooting and just south of Wandsworth, Streatham Common is just south-east of it.