Leek plummets in ‘best place to buy house’ rankings

LEEK dropped nearly 300 places in a list of the best places in the UK to buy a house.

With property prices rising and homes selling quickly, more and more people are now thinking about making a move.

Property finding company Garrington has carried out a study which ranks more than 1,300 towns and cities to find the best areas to buy a house.

The survey ranks the 1,372 areas across England and Wales based on four criteria: natural beauty, architectural beauty, quality of life, and how green it is. It also shows the average house price in each of the towns and cities.

Based on those criteria, it found the overall best place to live is Bath, in Somerset. Stoke-on-trent scored higher than any place in North Staffordshire – in 295th place overall.

In the Staffordshire Moorlands, Leek dropped 291 places to 529, and Cheddleton 162 places to a lowly 1,015 out of 1,372 towns.

Biddulph moved up to 682 from 852 and Upper Tean to 711 from 862.

The study also divided areas into three tiers, according to average property prices. Eccleshall was the only North Staffordshire town included in the study to have an average property price of between £350,000 and £650,000, while everywhere else came in at less than £350,000.

A Garrington spokesman said: “More space, somewhere comfortable to work, and a better standard of life continue to be cited as top requirements on many buyers’ wish lists.

“With millions of people keen to continue working remotely at least some of the time, many are reassessing what they want from their home – and this shift is transforming Britain’s property market for good.”

Leek – 529

Last year’s rank: 238

Natural beauty rank: 427

Quality of life rank: 927

Architectural beauty rank: 215

Green rank: 931

Average family home cost: less than £350k

Rank in price band: 226/661

Biddulph – 682

Last year’s rank: 852 Natural beauty rank: 937

Quality of life rank: 187

Architectural beauty rank: 886

Green rank: 822

Average family home cost: less than £350k

Rank in price band: 295/661

Upper Tean – 711

Last year’s rank: 862

Natural beauty rank: 391

Quality of life rank: 362

Architectural beauty rank: 691

Green rank: 1,168

Average family home cost: less than £350k

Rank in price band: 307/661

Cheddleton – 1,015

Last year’s rank: 853

Natural beauty rank: 328

Quality of life rank: 1,334 Architectural beauty rank: 553

Green rank: 892

Average family home cost: less than £350k