Can Homeowners change their address to attract buyers?  An interesting tactic in marketing your home is emerging in Vancouver. An increasing number of homeowners are changing their street address to attract Chinese house hunters who place value in specific numbers.

The numbers six and eight have a positive association because in Cantonese the number eight sounds similar to the word for fortune, and the number six means smooth and easy. The number four, however, is not as appealing to buyers because in some cultures the word four sounds too similar to the word for death. According to Vancouver realtor Alec Zhang, a home address that includes the number four could even reduce a home’s value by up to five percent. He advises a property address ending in four should be avoided. But how?

Believe it or not, for a fee of $676, homeowners can apply to have their home numbers changed. It’s apparently becoming a trend in Vancouver as 135 homeowners changed their address in the last year. Wayne Hamill, a realtor in Vancouver feels spending the money on the number change for his property was a good investment. He changed his address from 3806 to 3808 citing that when houses have an eight in the address they get more attention than houses that do not. This especially goes for houses with the number four in the address.

Linda Wener, whose address number was 3364 sold her home for well below the asking price after she received feedback that the address was unfavorable. Zhang feels that adjusting the house number to 3468 or 3466 would have been a more attractive number for Chinese buyers.

Is an unlucky address a total deal breaker? Not quite. Agents remark that an “unlucky” address number can be overlooked if the price is right. They also recommend including the number eight in the price. After all, it may even bring good luck.

Read more at CBC News.