Bad street name can drive down real estate

Bad street name can drive down real estate
The Leader-Post (Regina)
Fri 11 May 2007
Page: F5
Section: News
Byline: Misty Harris
Column: Market Value
Source: CanWest News Service

Apologies to sticks-and-stones philosophers, but it seems names really can hurt -- at least
when it comes to real estate.
Industry experts report a small but noteworthy negative effect between a badly named
street and the perceived market value of the homes or businesses on it: When identical
properties were simultaneously listed in the same neighbourhood, the dwelling whose
address evoked prestige was likely to fetch a higher price than the one that sounded like a
punchline.
Good news for residents of Country Club Drive in Kingston, Ont. Not so much for those
in nearby Bastard Ward.
"People attach values (to addresses) and pay a premium," explains Murtaza Haider, a
business professor and director of Ryerson University's Institute of Housing and
Mobility.
Haider recently analysed the property values of 300 homes either directly on or within
100 metres of Toronto's posh Bloor Street. Controlling for size, he found that having
Bloor in the physical address added a statistically significant premium to a property's
market worth.
"A street name, I think, carries a certain snob value," says Haider. "When Ryerson
markets its business program, it says 'MBA on Bay.' The reason is that they want to
capture the prestige associated with finance on Bay Street in Canada. But there isn't even
an entrance to the building on Bay Street. You enter from Dundas."
Research by Texas realtors Sylvia and Steve Crossland in 2006 similarly found that
properties in the same subdivision whose addresses had overtly violent names -- among
them Gun Fight, Ammunition and Six Gun -- sold for less than those on neutrally named
streets.
"Developers do spend some money coming up with appealing names, both for their
projects and for the streets within them," says William Strange, a professor of real estate
and urban economics at the University of Toronto.
"The branding probably brings them revenues, and the only way that can happen is for
there to be an impact of street name on property value."
Some of Canada's most bizarrely named streets include Dingle Bingle Hill Terrace in
Nanaimo, B.C., rue Schmuck in Shefford, Que., and Ragged Ass Road in Yellowknife,
N.W.T.
In Ontario's Bastard Ward, situated in the Township of Rideau Lakes, Mayor Ron
Holman recalls a movement to have the area's provocative name changed. The rebranding
effort resulted in an uprising among the locals, hundreds of whom took to wearing
buttons that read, "I'm a proud Bastard."
"When the final tally came in, it indicated that 90 per cent of residents were in favour of
the title Bastard remaining," says Holman, laughing. "I think the name is more of an
attraction than anything."
Americans seem to have the same idea, happily setting up house on Bucket of Blood
Street in Holbrook, Ariz., Black Weiner Drive in Savannah, Ga., Skunk's Misery Road in
Long Island, N.Y., Schmuck Road in Evansville, Ind., Poverty Plains Road in Warner,
N.H., Divorce Court in Pittston, Pa., and Shades of Death Road in Warren County, N.J.
Edition: Final
Story Type: Business; Column
Length: 494 words