Nightmare on Elm Street for Peterborough homeowners as homes sell for 35% less due to superstition

The 1984 horror film featuring Freddy Krueger is considered by many to be one of the greatest horror movies of all time but 37 years on, it seems that the classic is still scaring homebuyers.

New research by the Yorkshire Building Society has analysed residential property prices from the last ten years in the UK and has found that, on average, homes on Elm Streets sell for 42 percent less than the average for their postcode area.

The figures for Elm Street in Fletton show that houses sell for, on average, £70,598 (35 percent) less than surrounding houses.

The effect is felt much worse in other areas, however, properties on Elm Street in Blackburn saw a 67 percent drop. meanwhile Wakefield and Troedyrhiw in Merthyr Tydfil saw a 62 and 60 percent respectively.

There was just one Elm Street in the UK that saw homes sell for an average price which was higher than typical for the area, and that was Elm Street in Ferndale, South Wales.

The figures come from the Land Registry Paid Prices database and include all 46 Elm Streets in the UK where there had been a minimum of four residential property sales between October 31 2011, and October 21 2021.

Ben Merritt, senior mortgage manager at Yorkshire Building Society, said: “It seems that some house prices maybe being affected by a superstitious market, including those on Elm Street in Peterborough. We know that all kinds of reasons can affect prices and it seems that Freddy Krueger’s film franchise can now be added to that list. Conversely our new research shows that seven out of ten adults in the UK wouldn’t be put off living on Elm Street so for those in the market, their dream home could be just up this street.”

“It is worth bearing in mind though that if you have picked up a home for significantly less than the area’s average due to a spooky name, not to be horrified when it comes to selling if this continues to influence the property’s price.”