Buyers avoid “unlucky” Friday 13th moving day

We haven’t seen it appear on the calendar for almost a year, but the famously “unlucky” date of Friday 13th is back.  

Our research shows that it’s not just breaking mirrors and spilling salt we might avoid en masse today. It seems that the nation’s superstitions extend to moving home, too.  

With the 2-day weekend ahead to get fully moved in (or maybe just find your toothbrush and order a takeaway), Friday is typically the busiest day for completions. This is the day all monies are exchanged, and the keys are handed over. But when we looked at Friday 13ths all the way back to 1995, this famously unlucky day has come out as the least popular Friday to move.  

We also found that the 13th day of the month is the least popular day to complete on a home purchase out of all other dates in the month. 

Does the number 13 affect house prices?

We last saw Friday 13th fall in October 2023, when we found that number 13 homes were valued around £5,000 lower on average. And almost a year on, we’re seeing exactly the same price trend play out, with door number 13 valued over £5,000 lower than the average house price across the study (£364,139). 

We analysed over 10 million homes numbered 1-100 to see whether on average, number 13 door numbers are valued lower than others. Take a look at the findings below:

Top 10 most expensive house numbers 

House number	Average property value
1	£397,632
2	£390,630
3	£378,807
4	£378,016
5	£373,948
6	£371,531
7	£369,770
78	£367,818
8	£367,675
76	£366,865

Top 10 cheapest house numbers

House number	Average property value
13	£358,618
21	£359,538
27	£359,561
19	£360,112
23	£360,196
16	£360,228
73	£360,251
83	£360,269
17	£360,350
24	£360,391

Our property expert, Tim Bannister, says: “Despite the superstitions surrounding the number 13 and Friday the 13th, buyers willing to challenge these traditions could find themselves in a prime position to negotiate better deals. Our data shows that significant discounts are often available on properties with this traditionally unlucky number. With potential savings of over £5,000 – money that could be put towards stamp duty or other moving expenses – even the most superstitious buyers might be tempted to overlook the number on the door.”