What’s in a name? £100000, apparently…

Estimated reading time 3 minutes

Got an address ending in ‘lane’? Lucky you – your property is probably worth over £100,000 more than those living on a regular ‘street’.

According to new research conducted by Hometrack (property market specialists) the first line of your address is pretty damn fundamental to your house price. Who knew?

A study by Barclays Mortgages revealed that living on a humble ‘street’ means your property comes right at the bottom of the value list, with an average house price of £142,347; this is 29% under the national average and 42% under properties situated on ‘lanes’.

22% higher than the national average and with an average property value of £245,906, property owners living on a ‘lane’ should be quite literally shouting it from their rooftops…
Wondering what your address means for your net worth?

How much is your house worth if you live on a road?

Well, if you live on a ‘way’ or a ‘road’ then good news, the average value of your property will be £218,742 followed by those living on ‘roads’ where the average property price is £212,717. ‘Closes’ and ‘avenues’ average values drop a little further, at £204,964 and £192,344 respectively.

They say never judge a book by its cover, yet the same can’t be said for properties and street names, clearly. And the variation doesn’t stop there; there are significant differences in house value figures between regions. The biggest divide in price directly related to street name is in the South East, where properties situated on ‘lanes’ are worth a whopping £137,145 more than ‘streets’, on average.

The award for most pronounced gap in price goes to Wales though, where the difference between property prices on ‘streets’ and ‘lanes’ is 53%; those living on a ‘street’ generally have property valued at half the amount of those living on ‘lanes’.

East England, conversely, shows the slightest differences; prices of homes on streets and lanes vary by 36%. The lowest variance in price of the bunch still demonstrates a significant change, really bringing home the power of an address. Location, location, location has taken on a whole new meaning…

With regard to property prices as a whole, since 2001 when the last study was published, all street names have seen a massive increase in property value. In just 15 years the average price for a ‘lane’ property has doubled from £123,000 to £246000 and even generally low valued ‘streets’ have enjoyed a leap in value from £92,000 in 2001 to £142,000 now.

This data serves to confirm without a doubt that the house has been flying over the last few years. With the economy finally improving, property owners across the nation, especially those looking to sell, can rejoice. New buyers, on the other hand, may find it more difficult than ever to get themselves onto the property market.

Craig Calder, Barclays Director of Mortgages said ‘While this data paints a clear picture of victory for ‘lanes it’s interesting to see the varying statistics from around the country, and a huge growth in value overall.

Feature image credit: northallertonman/Shutterstock