There ARE still places where a nice house won't cost the earth

There are affordable homes in pleasant locations - but you may have to be prepared to uproot.

Chesham, Stowmarket and Sleaford are where the best bargains are, according to the Halifax, which has produced a nationwide "value for money" league table setting house prices against quality of life factors like the jobs market, education, health and even the weather.

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It looked for properties with an average asking price of below £150,000 in areas which scored well on lifestyle.

Chesham, in Buckinghamshire, comes top for those looking to buy a flat, which will include many first-time buyers.

Stowmarket, in Suffolk, is the best place for those looking for a terrace home, while Sleaford, in Lincolnshire, has the best value semi-detached houses in the country.

Chesham was ranked as the sixth best place to live in the country, according to a Halifax Quality of Life survey published last year.

However, it tops the value for money league because the average price of flats in the town - which is within easy commuting distance of London - is below £150,000.

It is followed by Basingstoke, in Hampshire, Bracknell, in Berkshire, and another Buckinghamshire town, Aylesbury, in terms of goodvalue flats.

Stowmarket was placed 17th overall in the 2006 quality of life league, yet the average terrace home there costs £133,331. The next best value options are Diss, in Norfolk, and Melksham, in Wiltshire.

However, the researchers found it was not as easy to buy a semi-detached house for less than £150,000 in an area which offered a high quality of life.

The best option, according to the Halifax, is Sleaford, a pleasant market town on the banks of the River Slea, which came 129th in terms of quality of life. The average price of a semi there is £139,791.

Martin Ellis, chief economist at the Halifax, said: "There are still some bargains to be had for first-time buyers and home movers."

Looking purely at prices, Bellshill, a town two miles north of Motherwell in Scotland, offers the cheapest flats in the country with an average price of just £64,203.

Around half of UK towns have an average price for a terrace at below £150,000.

The cheapest is Lochgelly, again in Scotland, with a figure of just £70,500.

Peterlee in the North-East is the cheapest place to buy a semi-detached house with an average price of £103,093.