For median house prices, owners are finding that “home for the holiday” is not so great.
Nationwide, the median house on a street with “holiday” in the name is worth $268,042 or 18% less than the median home on a normal street, whose median value is $327,257, according to a recent report from Zillow.
That’s nearly a $60,000 difference.
Other festive street names carry greater value. In Austin, Zillow reports that an address containing Merry is associated with a nearly 92% premium compared to addresses without a holiday theme.
Overall, though, addresses containing “merry” and “holly” are not associated with a significant premium compared to non-holiday-themed streets, having a median home value difference of only $367 and -$26 respectively, Zillow said.
Streets named as such are not common, with “holly” found most often – however in just about 0.1% of total addresses.
When Detroit Homes Outvalue Miami’s
The “holiday” spirit is one element that has Detroit’s home market performing better than Miami.
Miami’s homes with addresses containing “holiday” have a median Zestimate 69% lower compared to homes without a holiday-themed name, over a $300,000 gap.
In Detroit, “holiday” addressed homes come with a 63% premium when compared to homes without.
In Texas, Austin scores much better with its “merry” addresses compared to San Antonio.
The latter has a median Zestimate 35% lower than homes on normal streets. In Austin, the median Zestimate of homes was 92% higher than their neighbors.
New Is a Top-Performing Marketing Word
When it comes to words to use in listings, HomeLight says sellers should “harness the power of ‘new,’ by including Upgraded, Remodeled, Updated, Renovated, Latest, Recent, Just Completed, and Enhanced.
“New is a proven power word in advertising,” HomeLight said. “Buyers love knowing a home element is the latest model, with little to no wear from previous owners. Use ‘new’ wisely to highlight the most important home feature greatest and sneak in its synonyms when possible.”