Buying a number 13 property could save thousands of pounds
While superstitious people might be put off buying a property that is number 13, research shows that fewer people in the UK buy a house with what is considered an unlucky number and pay less for it.
Number 13 knocks £6,511 off the value of a home, according to research from FindaProperty while research from Zoopla shows that it is worth £3,310 less on average than the typical odd numbered property.
The report from FindaProperty says that 34% fewer properties with the number 13 are sold than others and fewer homes sold on the thirteenth of the month than any other day.
Sellers living at number 13 can expect to receive £6,511 or 4.1% less when selling their property than those who live at a different number, according to its analysis of ten year’s worth of data.
There have been 34% fewer properties sold with the number13, than those numbered one to 12 and 14 to 30. Over the past 10 years, 144,789 number 13 properties were sold compared to 239,716 number 12s and 222,127 number 14s.
It appears that Briton’s superstitions do not stop at the front door either, as 32% fewer homes are sold on the thirteenth day of each month, making it the day when the least homes are sold.
‘What this research shows is that it’s not just the bricks and mortar that effect a property’s sale price. There are so many other less tangible things to consider and this is a prime example. Whether or not a potential buyer warms to a property can have a huge impact on its saleability and for some people, superstitions can play a big role in this,’ said Samantha Baden, property analyst at FindaProperty.
‘If you don’t want to buy a number 13 property there are other options that could solve your superstitious dilemma. Previous research shows that giving a property a name instead of a number for instance, can add to the value of the property and impact positively on the way potential buyers perceive it,’ she added.
But other research shows odd numbered homes are worth £538 more than even numbered homes and the lower the property address number, the higher the property value. It also found that properties with a name are worth £90,000 more on average than ones with numbers.
Zoopla, which provides free value estimates for every home in the UK, reveals that properties with odd numbered addresses are currently worth £207,202 on average compared to £206,664 for even numbered addresses.
The research also shows that number one is by far the most valuable address worth an average of £229,411, which is £22,209 more than typical odd numbered homes and £7,138 more than its nearest rival, number two.
All house numbers between 1 and 20 feature near the top of the list of most valuable addresses except for number 13. Unlucky number 13 houses are worth £203,892, standing at £3,310 less on average than the typical odd numbered property.
But owners of properties without any numbers have the best deal. Properties with names as opposed to numbers are worth an average of nearly £90,000 more than numbered properties, with the average named home in the UK currently worth £295,654.
‘Lower numbered properties have always been popular as number one and two are often corner locations and lower numbers are generally closer to town centres. But who would have thought number 13 would be priced so differently,’ said Nicholas Leeming, business development director of Zoopla.
‘It seems that a little research can go a long way and if you are not obsessed by numerology and aren’t overly superstitious about which side of the street you live on or the number thirteen, then there might be savings to be had when buying your next home,’ he added.