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.
| Unusual Street name | Neighbouring street | Town, Postcode | % lower/higher house sales on unusual streets since 1997 |
| Dumbwomans Lane | Station Road | Rye, TN31 6 | -333% |
| Spiders Lane | Lime Grove | Exmouth, EX8 5 | -308% |
| Lickers Lane | Parkwood Road | Prescott, L35 3 | -306% |
| Loveless Gardens | Henderson Gardens | Gateshead, NE10 8 | -275% |
| Devils Lane | Chiltley Lane | Liphook, GU30 7 | -243% |
| Cockshot Road | Chart Lane | Reigate, RH2 7 | -163% |
| Cock-A-Dobby | Sylvan Ridge | Sandhurst, GU47 8 | -114% |
| Spanker Lane | Shop Lane | Nether Heage, DE56 2 | -70% |
| Stalin Road | Barn Hall Avenue | Colchester, CO2 8 | -67% |
| Rats Lane | Manor Road | Loughton, IG10 4 | -60% |
| Snakes Lane | Western Approaches | Southend-on-Sea, SS2 6 | -31% |
| Backside Lane | Glebe Street | Warmsworth, DN4 9 | -20% |
| Chicken Road | High View North | Wallsend, NE28 9 | -19% |
| Adolf Street | Amulf Street | London SE6 3 | -5% |
| Crotch Crescent | Derwent Avenue | Marston, OX3 | 15% |
| Titty Ho | Wellington Road | Wellingborough, NN9 6 | 34% |
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.
