Day: 12 October 2017

House buyers have a wish list when they view a property and the name of the street probably won’t be on that list. However, research  reveals that a controversial, rude, extreme, or silly street name could put off potential buyers, with the number of house sales up to four times lower than on neighbouring streets with more neutral names.

Researchers looked at the number of house sales over the past 20 years on some of the UK’s more unusually named streets; such as Backside Lane, Stalin Road and Spanker Lane, and compared with the number of house sales on adjoining streets with more conventional names, that aren’t likely to make people chuckle or cringe.

Take Dumbwomans Lane, in Rye – a street name likely to raise quite a few eyebrows. Not surprisingly, house sales have been few and far between since 1997, with four times fewer house sales (-333%) than on neighbouring Station Road.

Spiders Lane (-308%), which is likely to tap into many peoples’ phobias, and Lickers Lane (-306%), possibly too embarrassing for many buyers, have also had four times fewer property sales than on neighbouring streets Lime Grove and Parkwood Road.

Devils Lane and Stalin Road may not sit comfortably with many buyers, and that’s possibly reflected in the number of house sales over the past two decades on these streets. Neighbouring Chiltley Lane has had more than three times (243%) more house sales than on Devils Lane. And Stalin Road, sharing its name with the Soviet Union dictator, has had 70% fewer house sales than nearby Barn Hall Avenue.

While, Rats Lane has had just five sales since 1997 and Loveless Gardens only four sales.

The following table lists some of the more unusual, controversial and extreme street names in the UK, and compares the number of house sales over the past 20 years with sales on neighbouring streets.

Surprisingly, on two of the streets  researched, the number of sales were actually higher on the more unusually named street. Possibly tapping into the British sense of humour, Crotch Crescent and Titty Ho, have likely raised a few chuckles over the years. But they also seem to have boosted house sales, with sales on Crotch Crescent 15% higher than nearby Derwent Avenue and 34% higher on Titty Ho than on neighbouring Wellington Road.

The latest ONS statistics for house price per square meter and per room has revealed that the average room price the UK is £57,065 – double the average UK annual salary.

Between 2004 and 2016 the price per habitable room in England and Wales has risen by around 45%.

The highest house price per square metre (which includes both houses and flats) is in London with an average cost of over £6,500 for each square metre.

Between 2004 and 2016, price per area in London nearly doubled (98%) with the East of England and the South East both increasing by around 55% over the period.

The borough of Kensington and Chelsea is the most expensive area to buy a house, with an average price of £19,400 per metre squared, around eight times the England and Wales average.

At the lower end you would pay £777 per metre squared in Blaenau Gwent, a third of the England and Wales average and less than 5% of the prices in Kensington and Chelsea.

Andy Sommerville, Director at Search Acumen, commented: “Today’s figures crudely highlight the extent of the affordability crisis that is hindering the dream of home ownership for millions. To put today’s figures into context, the average price per room in the UK is £57,065, double the average UK annual salary.

“While these figures highlight a widening North/South divide, the issue of making property more affordable remains a nationwide one.

“Our research shows that England will reach a housing shortfall of a million homes by 2020. With Theresa May’s pledge for affordable housing only expected to fund 25,000 additional homes, it is clear government’s current appetite for intervention will not bring the dream of homeownership back to reality.

“The industry must act now to address this shortfall to stop the cost of homes for everyday people reaching premium and prime levels.”