Thursday, November 15, 2012

Do you feel lucky?

NEW YORK – Nov. 13, 2012 – When setting an asking price, some real estate agents and home sellers use numbers believed to bring good luck.

In predominantly Asian neighborhoods, for instance, listing prices often feature the number eight and avoid the bad luck number four. Trulia says 20 percent of listings in these neighborhoods end with an eight, with this particular superstition strongest in communities where Asians represent over half of residents.

Seven is the lucky number in Nevada, where it is 37 percent more common for listings to feature a seven before the zeros in the price; the number of triple-seven listings are three-fold higher in the state than elsewhere across the country.

Listings with 316, representing a New Testament verse, are 27 percent more common in the Bible Belt; while the number 13 is 15 percent less common nationwide than the numbers 12 and 14.

When it comes to buyers, Cornell University marketing professor Manoj Thomas says lower numbers on the left make them feel they are getting a good deal. Because people tend to round down, 54 percent of homes under $1 million have prices that end in nine, according to Trulia.

Jed Kolko, Trulia’s chief economist, says five is the most popular digit in the high-end market, as it is viewed as “the midpoint on the 1 to 10 scale.”

Source: Wall Street Journal (11/09/12) P. M1; Tanaka, Sanette

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