Lucky numbers and other real estate superstitions.

Have you ever heard of triskaidekaphobia? It’s the fear of the number 13, and in real estate it has a real impact on addresses and list prices. There are quite a few reasons 13 was deemed unlucky. Starting way  back at the last super, where Judas was the 13th guest, in a tarot card deck the 13th card signifies death,  and moving right on up to the 1980s when the movie Friday the 13th became a popular cult classic.
There are so many origin stories, but the result is undeniable.

Superstition is more than just black cats on Halloween, its cultural roots and religious origins make it a relevant factor in big decisions people make about where they chose to buy a home. In Irvine, CA, the city passed regulations against new homes possessing the address numbers 666 or 444. The first set of numbers in the Christian religion is the number signifying the mark of the beast. The ladder is an unlucky number in Asian communities. In the Mandarin language, the word for 4 sounds similar to the word for death. Conversely the word for 8 sounds similar to the Mandarin word for life and is looked upon favorably by buyers. In a study done by Zillow in 2015, communities with a 10% or higher Chinese population found homes with a listing price ending in 8 went for 1.5% more than asking, and homes with an address ending in 4 sold for 1% less.

In many high-rise buildings across the country you will find elevator floor number lists missing the number 13, or 4, 14, 24, for these same reasons.

There are many practices out there with roots based in superstition, meant to cleanse a home or space to prepare for a new venture with a clean slate. Saging or smudging a space is like deep cleaning for bad energy. You sweep and dust out the physical old dirt from a space, some people believe the same must be done to oust residual bad juju from prior bad feelings or stress.

Have you ever heard of burying a Saint Joseph in order to aid with the process of selling a house? St. Joseph is the patron saint of carpenters and in the 1500s a nun preyed to Saint Joseph to aid in the process of finding land for their nunnery. The story goes nuns were called upon to bless his statue and bury it while praying for land for the nunnery and shortly thereafter the perfect parcel was found. These
days folks of the Christian faith believe chances of getting the price you want and buyers who will love your old home are increased by burying St Joseph’s statue in the yard.

Believing in ghosts and hauntings does impact peoples' decisions about buying a home where a person has passed, or even a home that’s shrouded in stories stemming from local legend. A poll done in 2019 by YouGov found as many as 43% of adult Americans believe spirits can return from the dead and haunt a place, that’s a high percentage!

There is endless old folklore about buying near a cemetery, bringing in an old broom, moving while raining, a blue porch to ward off ghosts, an acorn on the window sill to protect a home from lighting. It’s such a leap of faith selling your home for a price you're just putting out there in the universe, it makes sense people like to do little acts they believe could have impact. It feels good to get a little sense of control over something that’s a very big deal in your life, and you don’t have total control over the outcome.