52% of Buyers Would Live in a Haunted House if the Price Was Right

October 31, 2025

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Buying a home shouldn’t feel like a horror movie, but for many Americans, it does. High prices, low inventory, and rising costs have made today’s market frightening enough that ghosts barely make the list of dealbreakers.

Slap on the right price, and a lot of buyers would overlook a small thing like a haunting. But add some funky smells, spider webs, and suspicious wall stains, and those same buyers will nope right out the door.

That’s one of the big takeaways from a new Real Estate Witch survey: more than half of U.S. buyers say they’d purchase a haunted house. And most would do it for a discount.

But anything that smells like “this would be expensive to fix” is a big no.

Turns out, the real horrors in housing aren’t supernatural. They’re financial.

Haunted Homes and Unbothered Buyers

Nearly one in five Americans (19%) believe they’ve lived in a haunted home, and a growing number are fine with it. A full 25% of those who’ve shared space with spirits say they knew the house was haunted before moving in, double last year’s rate.

Meanwhile, 74% of Americans say they wouldn’t move out even if they discovered their house was haunted. Instead, they’d try to handle the situation.

Here’s how:

32% would cleanse the home.
30% would simply coexist with the ghosts.
16% would call for an exorcism.
14% would try to communicate with the ghosts.
12% would even make their spectral guests more comfortable.

And 15% say nothing, not even floating furniture or footsteps in an empty hallway, could convince them to leave.

That said, some buyers do draw the line at “murder houses,” partly because the gruesome history makes “home sweet home” feel more like a desperate wish than a possibility.

Plus (aside from the whole murdery vibe), the resale value for these places is not great.

What Really Scares Homebuyers

The report found that only 6% of Americans say ghosts are the scariest part of homeownership. For everyone else, real-world problems haunt them far more:

70% are afraid of mold.
65% fear termites.
63% dread asbestos.
62% worry about foundation issues.
58% lose sleep over a leaky roof.

Even invisible threats like radon and lead paint fail to spook most buyers. Fifty-seven percent say radon is no more concerning than a ghost, while nearly half say the same about lead paint.

That fear hierarchy says a lot about 2025. After years of bidding wars, rate hikes, and affordability struggles, buyers have learned to stomach almost anything, except costly repairs.

Who’s Most Likely to Believe in Ghosts?

Younger generations are leading the way into the paranormal. Thirty percent of Gen Z and 24% of millennials say they’ve lived in a haunted house, compared to just 10% of boomers.

Gen Z is also three times more likely than boomers to say nothing is scarier than a haunted house; 75% of them worry more about ghosts than radon, compared to just 37% of boomers.

Nearly two-thirds (64%) of Gen Z respondents also fear ghosts more than asbestos, compared to just 19% of boomers.

It’s safe to say the youngest buyers are bringing new energy, and a few lingering superstitions, into today’s housing market. It’s also possible older generations are more familiar with the risks associated with radon and asbestos.

Haunted but Harder to Sell

Of those who’ve lived in a haunted home, 63% admit these properties are tougher to sell, and 68% say they would not willingly disclose a haunting. Nearly half would only reveal it if the law required them to, and 6% say they would never disclose it.

That hesitation makes sense when you look at the stigma. While 52% of buyers say they’d consider a haunted house (mostly for a discount), 48% refuse outright.

Two-thirds say they’d offer below asking price (68%), while 41% of haunted homeowners still expect to sell above market value (versus 16% of buyers who would pay above asking).

In other words, even in the haunted realm, seller expectations remain… ambitious.

The Lesser of Two Evils

When asked to compare haunted houses to other stigmatized properties, most buyers said they’d rather face ghosts than something worse.

Over half (52%) would refuse to buy near a nuclear waste facility, 47% would pass on a former meth lab, and another 47% draw the line at homes on burial grounds.

And when it comes to roommates, ghosts are the clear winners. Americans would rather share space with spirits than:

A criminal (52%)
A hoarder (50%) or messy roommate (40%)
Someone with strong body odor (49%)
A smoker (38%)
Someone who borrows without asking (34%)

So, while haunted houses aren’t topping anyone’s wish list, they’re not the dealbreakers they once were.

Today’s buyers have grown remarkably resilient. They’ve survived pandemics, price spikes, and interest rates that make your hair stand on end.

A haunted house? Hardly a dealbreaker. But sellers should take note: buyers are still most afraid of unexpected costs, bad neighbors, and expensive repairs.

Sarah Lentz | Oct 29, 2025 | Housing Market

https://nowbam.com/52-of-buyers-would-live-in-a-haunted-house-if-the-price-was-right/

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Chuck Barberini Real Estate