And finally… Elm Street provides Halloween nightmare for homeowners
It really is a nightmare to own a home on Elm Street as more than half (54%) of the 79 Elm Streets in the UK have had no property sales since last Halloween, according to new research.
Elm Street is synonymous with the 1984 slasher movie Nightmare on Elm Street and a study conducted by online estate agents Housesimple.com delved into the number of house sales on all Elm Streets across the UK over the past 12 months, five and ten years, to see if a something a little bit spooky might be occurring.
It didn’t take much digging to discover there have been no registered house sales in 10 years on 1 in 7 of the 79 Elm Streets in the UK, with streets in Manchester, Belfast, Glasgow, all seemingly cursed by the connection with a certain Freddy Krueger.
And with average property prices across Elm Streets standing at £191,888, 17.6% lower than the UK average of £232,797, local property markets might need a little supernatural intervention to give them a kick-start.
Sam Mitchell, CEO of Housesimple.com, said: “What’s in a name? Well, if the number of properties sold on Elm Streets over the past decade is anything to go by, perhaps more than we might realise.
“It’s difficult to pinpoint the exact reason for the low numbers of house sales on Elm Streets. Perhaps there aren’t many properties on the streets, or maybe people love living there so much, that they don’t want to move.
“But I wouldn’t be surprised if a few prospective buyers have been a little nervous about the prospect of living on such an infamously-named street.
“Fortunately, not everyone is spooked by Halloween and with Elm Street prices below the UK average, there could be some good value properties to be snapped up. Just check your neighbour’s name isn’t Mr F Kruger.”
House sales and average prices on all Elm Streets in Scotland
Street | Current average value | Sales - last 12 months | Sales - last 5 years | Sales - last 10 years |
Elm Street, Blantyre, Glasgow G72 | £168,986 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Elm Street, Lennoxtown, Glasgow G66 | £201,061 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Elm Street, Stirling FK8 | £236,842 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
Elm Street, Clarkston, Glasgow G76 | £262,000 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
Elm Street, Dunbar EH42 | £254,882 | 1 | 2 | 5 |
Elm Street, Kirriemuir DD8 | £171,434 | 0 | 2 | 5 |