By Melissa Dittmann Tracey, REALTOR® Magazine
Haunted houses must not be too spooky because 32 percent of potential home buyers say they’d buy a haunted house or a home with suspected paranormal activity, according to a new Realtor.com survey.
While some potential buyers may be willing to overlook any skeletons in the closet, they do expect a discount for the paranormal intrusion.
Seventeen percent of the potential home buyers say they’d expect a discount of 51 percent or more on the “haunted” home’s market value, 19 percent say they expect a 31-50 percent discount, and 18 percent say a 21-30 percent discount would suffice for them. Only 15 percent of those surveyed say they’d be willing to pay full market value for a “haunted” home.
Discounts aside, if those ghosts acted up during the house tour, most buyers say all deals would be off. Warm or cold spots possibly produced by any lurking ghosts or suspicious noises like footsteps and slamming doors would be a deterrent to these buyers. That said, 41 percent say they are OK with ghosts staying in the home–as long as they remained invisible and didn’t bug them.
Ever find yourself having to list a home with suspected paranormal activity? Try staging the home with the “Ghost Busters” theme song playing in the background. After all, these buyers “ain’t afraid of no ghosts.”
