Our home, for many our most valuable asset and one that, similarly to a child, we nurture
and tend during our custodianship. It is traditional after the birth of a child to have some form of ceremony, whether a baptism, dedication or naming ceremony to welcome them safely into the world. It appears too that increasingly we want to name our home. Research conducted by the Royal Mail indicates that Norfolk has the greatest concentration of ‘named’ homes in the UK (over 16,000), and aside from London, Norwich tops the city league with over 3,500.
Anecdotal research suggests that names add interest to those looking to purchase property, with names that imbue an emotional connection, such as Orchard, Cottage or Old Post Office, selling proportionately more quickly than those with more quirkier names. But, in today’s ‘head’ versus ‘heart’ society, is there any impact on value in ‘naming’ your home?
An analysis of property sales across Norfolk over the last year indicates that close to 2000 properties, one in every eight properties sold, had an address bearing a name and no number. Such properties sell for premiums, per square foot, of between 3% and 6%. Perhaps not surprisingly, detached properties are the most likely homes to be ‘named’. They account for over three-quarters of ‘named’ sales, with one in every five detached homes sold being a ‘named’ property. Such properties sell for an average price premium of over £20,000. With the process of ‘naming’ your property not too expensive, perhaps many more of us should consider a naming ceremony for our home.