There Is A Overriding Perception That North Is Better
A recent article appearing in the New York Times cited a study conducted by the psychology department at Gettysburg College showing that most people knowing nothing else about a city, would prefer to live in the northern half of a town rather than the southern half. The study found that there is a strong bias towards the north, the overall perception being that a northern location is seen as the more affluent point of a compass.
Researchers found that study participants expressed a strong desire to live in the northern part of a town. Participants saw the north as more affluent – 72.5% of respondents believed an affluent person likely lived in the northern half of a hypothetical city.
The bias likely boils down to psychology, and how we view the words north and south. Although north and south are abstract concepts, we tend to understand them in spatial terms, with north meaning up and south meaning down. Taking it a it a step further and look at the underlying emotional meaning of up and down, where up means good and down means bad.
Whether or not this geographic preference overrides any of the other numerous factors buyers consider when choosing a home is unknown – no real estate transaction data was included as part of the study.
Locally taking a look at the first half of this year, 9 out of the 10 highest priced homes that have sold have been located in the northern quadrant of Nether Providence Township. So perhaps in reality some of this perception may indeed be true.
Wallingford PA Real Estate – Wallingford, PA 19086
