Homeownership Trivia to Impress Your Friends

In case you need some conversation starters, here are a dozen interesting facts about homeownership that may surprise you…or at least they will provide you with some memorable minutiae to use at the next get together.

 

  1. New York homeowners are required to comply with a “Ghostbusters Ruling” when listing their property for sale. This involves disclosing whether any ghosts inhabit or frequently visit the home.
  2. When you first enter your new house, bring bread so those in the home will never know hunger.
  3. Take along a new broom; bringing an old broom into a new home is considered an invitation to bad luck.
  4. It’s considered bad luck to give a knife as a housewarming present. The superstitious believe it will turn the recipient into your enemy.
  5. A red door has been a historic symbol of protection and refuge. However, in Scotland,  it signifies that the home’s owner has paid off the mortgage.
  6. Only 30 percent of Americans have home security systems. 60 percent of burglars said that if they had noticed an alarm, they would have moved on.
  7. Americans tend to stay close when they move. The median distance between the homes people purchased and those they moved from is just 15 miles.
  8. The most common street names in the U.S. are “Second” in first place “Third” in second place, and “First” is in third place.
  9. The median size of a new home for the U.S. in 2021 was 2,297 square feet.
  10. Brass, copper, aluminum, iron, and silver are essentially self-disinfecting materials. It’s called the oligodynamic effect, and as an antimicrobial metal, brass leads the list of sanitizing materials.
  11. The concept of a housewarming party began due to the need to literally warm up the house. Guests brought firewood for the new fireplace.
  12. Interest rates on 30-year mortgages have dropped to historic lows, the high was in October 1981, a whopping 18.45 percent.

 

Which one of these facts were your favorite to learn?

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