Where to buy a home in the North of England

With the wave of Americans moving to London, including Ellen de Generis in the Cotswolds, Josh Hartnett in Hampshire and Lena Dunham in London, we’re seeing a lot of movement to the South of the country. But what of the North?

Such stars are surely missing a trick by missing out on our northern heartlands. In this article we delve into the north of England property scene.

Reigning supreme as Britain’s prime real estate destination, London has a record 350,000 homes valued at £1milllion-plus (Savills Feb 2025). That’s around half of the nationwide total of million pound plus homes. In London one in 42 homes fall into this bracket, while excluding London, this figure is one in 73.

Looking closer, while the southern regions of Britain are the immediate runners-up to London by volume, they recorded year-on-year drops in £1million-plus homes last year.

Conversely, the northern regions gained more property millionaires year-on-year. Wondering where buyers with budgets go house-hunting up north? Let’s take a look at some of the North’s prime property spots, where supercars in the driveway and indoor pools are run of the mill!

Suburban appeal

“With the exception of London, the biggest postcode premiums tend to be found just outside major urban areas,” said National Franchise Director at estate agency Yopa, Steve Anderson in June 2025. “These are the sweet spots – places where buyers can enjoy space, tranquillity, and quality of life, without losing access to cities and transport links.

High demand, top-rated schools, and limited supply all combine to create intense competition. When homes come up in these areas, buyers are often willing to pay a significant premium to secure them.”

Golden Triangle, Cheshire

Aptly dubbed Footballer Belt, this collection of small towns and villages within a five-mile-wide triangle south of Manchester contains some of the most exclusive residential addresses in Britain, let alone the North West.

Earlier this year, Macclesfield Road in Alderley Edge was listed as the most expensive street outside of London with an average house price of £6million, according to a report by The Times.

Focused around the chic towns of Wilmslow, Alderley Edge and Prestbury, each with a boutiquey high street with trendy bars and restaurants, it’s the go-to place to live for international footballers playing for the region’s famous premiership clubs. Hence the parade of supercars growling through the streets at weekends.

Easy access to Manchester and Liverpool, proximity to the pretty countryside of the Peak District and Cheshire Plain and good transport links underpin its desirability. The bijou villages of Mobberley, Chelford, Mottram St Andrew and Handforth fall within the Triangle.

Hale and Altrincham, Manchester

The swanky Greater Manchester postcode of WA15 has its fair share of £1million-plus homes. An affluent area in the city’s southern Trafford borough, ‘Manchester’s Millionaire Row’ covers Altrincham (which also includes WA14), Hale, Hale Barns and Timperley.

Why so desirable. With its own villagey feel, it’s situated on the edge of the Cheshire countryside but also very convenient for the bright lights of Manchester – Altrincham is the start of the Greater Manchester tram network.

Chester

Historic jewel of the North West, Chester’s cachet as a compact, picturesque cathedral city conveniently located between Liverpool and Manchester makes it one of the region’s most desirable destinations.

Five per cent of all property sales there are above £749,000, which is the highest 5% threshold in the North West, according to recent data from agent Fine and Country. The average sales price within this premium bracket is £919,000.

Famous for its Tudor high street with beautifully preserved half-timbered buildings, Chester has six residential postcodes where the average sales price is over £1million, peaking at £1,435,375 in Curzon Park North. Most of these offer views overlooking the River Dee.

For more tranquil surroundings, the Chester area has a selection of south-after villages all within an easy commute. These include Christleton, Tattenhall, Farndon, Rossett, Aldford, Tarvin, and Tarporley.

Golden Triangle, Yorkshire

The lush area between North Leeds, York and Harrogate is home to some of Yorkshire’s most desirable addresses. According to data from sales agency Property Solvers, it includes the 10 most expensive Leeds (LS) postcodes, nine of which are LS17 and where average prices over the past five years range from £1,100,000 to nearly £2,100,000.

You’re deep into God’s Own Country here. The area’s desirability stems from the opportunity to be in a pretty stone village or Spa town while being on the doorstep of the stunning Yorkshire Dales and historic city centres of Leeds and York. It ticks every box for families looking for an idyllic arcadian lifestyle.

Other popular areas include the graceful market towns of Wetherby and Tadcaster and villages of Weeton, Ripley, Poppleton and Hammerton. The Spa town of Ilkley, north-west of Leeds, is equally endearing.

Other northern sweet spots

Research by national agency Yopa revealed other postcodes across northern England where property commands a premium for the local area.

In the Wirral, CH60 covers the small town of Heswall with adjoining Gayton where large detached homes near the beach regularly fetch more than £1million.

On the southwestern edge of Sheffield, leafy S17 includes the neighbourhoods of Dore, Totley and Bradway which now make up the Yorkshire city’s most desirable place to live.

Just north of Newcastle and close its airport, the postcode NE20 covers the pretty village of Ponteland which includes the upmarket residential community of Darras Hall. Popular with the city’s premiership players and the North East’s wealthy elite, property there doesn’t come cheap.