Britain's worst street names: Would you live on Spanker Lane?

When you draw up your wish list for a new home, the chances are that the street name won't feature.

However, research has shown that it's something that can influence buyers a lot. Homes in streets with rude or silly names can be four times less likely to sell than those in nearby roads with more conventional names, a survey from online estate agentsHouseSimple has revealed.

See also: The UK's worst house names

See also: The 10 biggest turn-offs stopping people buying your home

In Dumbwomans Lane, in Rye, for example, house sales have been few and far between since 1997, with only a quarter as many properties changing hands as on neighbouring Station Road.

Sometimes, it seems, it's phobias that are putting potential buyers off: homes in Spiders Lane, Rats Lane and Snakes Lane don't exactly sell like hot cakes.

Meanwhile, the embarassment of telling people you live in Lickers Lane or Spanker Lane must be pretty hard to deal with at times.

Stalin Road may not be the best address for Colchester's Tory-voting inhabitants, and has had 70% fewer house sales than nearby Barn Hall Avenue. Loveless Gardens has had only four sales.

Surprisingly, on two of the streets HouseSimple.com researched, the number of sales were actually higher on the more unusually named street.

Possibly tapping into the British sense of humour, sales on Crotch Crescent in Oxford have been 15% higher than nearby Derwent Avenue, and 34% higher on Titty Ho in Wellingborough than on neighbouring Wellington Road.

"Buyers will often pay more to live on an Avenue or Crescent versus a Street or Road. However, the actual name of a street could also have a significant impact on the salability and value of your house," says Alex Gosling, HouseSimple's CEO.

"An unusual street name shouldn't be the reason you don't buy a property, particularly if it's your dream house, but just bear in mind that you're going to be reminded daily of the street you live on, so you need to be comfortable with the name if it's a little out of the ordinary."

How house sales on unusually-named streets compare with others nearby

Dumbwomans Lane: -333%
Spiders Lane: -308%
Lickers Lane: -306%
Loveless Gardens: -275%
Devils Lane: -243%
Cockshot Road: -163%
Cock-A-Dobby: -114%
Spanker Lane: -170%
Stalin Road: -67%
Rats Lane: -60%
Snakes Lane: -31%
Backside Lane: -20%
Chicken Road: -19%
Adolf Street: -5%
Crotch Crescent: 15%
Titty Ho: 34%