Hauntings Affect House Prices

Hauntings or reported crimes can significantly affect the desirability of a house and impact the buying price.

According to RICS, hauntings or other occurrences such as a high profile murder can have a significant impact on the saleability of a property.

The impact may be to increase or lower the house price depending on the individual buyers’ interest.

It’s a fact too that when rumours spread of murders having taken place in a property, some homes have remained on surveyors’ books for extended periods.

Equally some homes have even been known to be practically un-saleable due to supposed hauntings.

A seafront thatched property in West Sussex, was the scene of a murder around 15 years ago when a wife was killed by her husband using a champagne bottle. Despite being an extremely desirable property, the house could not be sold.

One of Newcastle’s oldest buildings, a 14th century timber framed pub, is said to be haunted by the spirit of Henry Hardwick, a ghostly figure seen late at night with only black sockets for eyes. Whilst the stories of the historic building’s haunted past did not add value, they helped to increase the marketability of the building.

A Victorian detached bungalow made of black brick at Country Antrim, was repossessed last year after its owners failed to sell due to rumours of it being haunted by a ghost.

In the West of Scotland, a woman was murdered by a family member in a small village. As word of this spread throughout the community, the property was eventually valued at 20% less than it would have been had the murder not taken place.

Jeremy Leaf, RICS spokesperson, commented: “While many factors can affect a property’s value, unusual occurrences such as rumoured hauntings, celebrity inhabitants or high profile crimes can have a significant affect on a house’s saleability.

“There are examples across the UK where houses are said to have been previously occupied by a famous celebrity or even the ghost.”

MoneyHighStreet comments: “For all property there is a price point at which it will be desirable and it will sell. Unfortunately for many this price level doesn’t meet a sellers expectation, nor indeed on many cases that of a buyer either.

“So whether a house is suffering or not as a result of a haunting, expectations need to be managed, both on the seller and buyer side of the equation.

“House prices in general are still on the way down with the average property value in England and Wales standing at £162,109 in September with an annual price decrease of 2.6%

“On a positive note, there are some better mortgage deals around now which may help buyers, including some 90% LTV fixed rate mortgages, from Woolwich for example.

“It is vital that those buying a property seek the best mortgage deal – and don’t forget that a formal house valuation will be required for this.”