Haunted houses sell for as much as £227,000 less

While Halloween may be the time of year when homeowners want to shout about their haunted house, the latest research by property purchasing specialist, House Buyer Bureau, has revealed that they may have to reduce their asking price by hundreds of thousands of pounds if they wish to sell it in the current market.

House Buyer Bureau analysed current property market values and just how much less a haunted home commands when it comes to the price homebuyers are willing to pay.

Research suggests that, in order to sell a haunted home full of paranormal housemates, home sellers have to reduce their asking price by 17%.

On the current average UK property, that’s a haunted house price reduction of over £50,000, while in London, this paranormal property price reduction climbs as high as £94,000. Even in the North East, ghostly apparitions can cut £28,000 from the average asking price.

No surprise then, that a haunted home will cost you the most when trying to sell in London, with this ghastly discount equating to over £227,000 in Kensington and Chelsea.

In fact, in no less than 15 areas of the UK property market haunted house homeowners would see their property sell for over £100,000 less as a result of their additional house guests.

Westminster (-£163,893), Camden (-£147,521), the City of London (-£137,718) and Hammersmith and Fulham (-£135,927) are home to some of the other highest haunted house discounts in the capital.

Outside of London, a haunted home in Elmbridge is likely to sell for £122,000 less, with St Albans (-£104,785), Three Rivers (-£104,686) and Mole Valley (-£101,505) also seeing some of the largest paranormal price reductions.

Managing Director of House Buyer Bureau, Chris Hodgkinson, commented:

“Whether you believe in ghosts and ghouls or not, there are a wealth of homes across the UK that are believed to be haunted. Some are thought to be home to some rather terrifying individuals, while others have been the site of historical significance which is said to be the reason behind their paranormal activity today.

But while these haunted homes may hold appeal to a small segment of the market, they’re unlikely to appeal to the average buyer and so it may not be the best advertising tool when it comes to standing out from the crowd.

Even the mere suggestion of paranormal activity can be enough to shave thousands of pounds from a property’s value and so you may find that the quick sale route is your best option when offloading a haunted house, without taking too much of a hit with respect to the price achieved.”