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In this hot market, many Americans are willing to overlook a few ghosts for the right home and list price. Nearly a third—or 30%—say they’d be willing to live with a “friendly” ghost, according to realtor.com®’s annual Halloween survey. Twenty percent say they would live in a home where a murder has taken place. “In today’s ultra-competitive housing market, buyers are looking for a break,” says Clare Trapasso, realtor.com®’s deputy news editor. “The majority are willing to consider homes that are rumored to be haunted, especially if they can get these properties at a discount.”
Sixty-three percent of respondents say they’d be willing to live in a haunted house at a discounted price. Most respondents say they would expect more than 20% off the market price for a haunted home. Sixty-nine percent say that if a murder has taken place in the home, they expect more than 10% shaved off the market price; nearly a quarter say they’d want a discount of more than 50%, the survey found.
Nearly three-fourths of respondents who believe they’ve lived in a haunted home before say they didn’t know until after they moved in, citing strange noises, an eerie feeling in certain rooms, shadows, odd pet behavior, items moving on their own, and hot or cold spots. Some respondents report ghost sightings (33%), lights turning on and off (31%), or levitating objects (12%).
“Home buyers who are concerned about a home’s past should be sure to ask questions and do some research before they buy a new house,” Trapasso says. “Only a few states require sellers to inform house hunters if someone died on the property. Some people who find themselves living in a home they believe to be haunted turn to specialists, like paranormal investigators, spiritual healers, and even church-sanctioned religious leaders.”