What’s in a name? ‘Country’ golden for property

A recently published research study by two researchers from the University of Georgia shows that home buyers are willing to pay premium for the added esteem of living in communities with property names that include the words ”country” and ”country club.”

The buyers pay an average of approximately 4.2 percent more for the word ”country” in the property name and an additional 5.1 percent on top of that premium if the word ”club” is added to form ”country club” in the property name.

In addition, the results also support the idea that wealthier buyers tend to practice “conspicuous consumption”.

According to Selma Hepp, research economist for the National Association of Realtors, explained that buyers who bought homes in top 25 percent of home prices are more willing to pay a price premium for the words ”country club” than those in the bottom 25 percent.

The study’s authors also found that conspicuous consumption falls during recessionary periods as home buyers are less willing to pay premiums for the prestige associated with these words.