A band of eastern suburbs has joined the list of Melbourne’s best areas to live in a new landmark study.

Sitting in the top 15 of the PwC Australia CityPulse 2021 report are suburbs such as Wantirna with a score of 9.3, Blackburn (9.1), Ringwood (9.1), Mulgrave (8.9), Wantirna South (8.9) and Burwood (8.8).

Northcote was number one with a perfect score of 10 among 295 suburbs ranked in the annual study.

The analysis, which assessed the best places to live, work and play and reflected profound changes brought on by the pandemic, found “skyrocketing liveability for more Greater Melbourne suburbs”.

Ranked 228 in 2020, Burwood rose more than 200 spots to emerge at number 14 while Wantirna jumped from 87 to 4 and nearby Wantirna South rose to 12 from 96.

The outer-east suburb of Ringwood also performed well and ranked 9 from 117 the previous year.

“Burwood is a suburb on the rise because it is close to blue-chip areas like Camberwell and Glen Iris, and is more affordable,” Barry Plant Monash sales manager Jason Chow said.

“It is tightly held and the new estate of Burwood Brickworks is successful and offers new homes in an established area.”

Burwood offers proximity to the city, trams and access to trains, good schools like PLC and Deakin University, and is also close to Box Hill, Mr Chow added.

Nearby Blackburn has been a traditional favourite for homebuyers because it is established, family friendly and has tree-lined streets and greenery, Mr Chow said.

Meanwhile, the Knox suburbs of Wantirna and Wantirna South are sought after because they offer spacious homes, good infrastructure and are served by major roads, according to Barry Plant Wantirna partner Brett Smith.

“They also have highly recognised private and public schools and are relatively young suburbs with newer homes on blocks that average 600-700sq m,” he said.

Homebuyers are looking for properties with space to live and enjoy, and Wantirna and Wantirna South also have easy access to the Dandenong Ranges, Yarra Valley and Mornington Peninsula, Mr Smith added.

The study noted that while higher ‘live scores’ were once dominated by suburbs closer to the CBD, outer suburbs were becoming more popular as they offered more open space, larger homes, and easy access to key essentials such as schools and shops.

The research used 35 different data sources for a range of measures, including schools, parks, hospitals, unemployment rate, parks, dining venues, health centres and shops.