Haunted Homes vs. Affordable Housing

Living in the same home as ghosts and goblins might not sound appealing for many people. However, a new report found that millennials wouldn’t mind having a supernatural roommate if that home was affordable.  

A report by Clever says that millennials are 13-times more likely to buy a haunted homes and 17-times more likely to pay more for it than baby boomers. 

Clever states that millennials, in most cases, have waited longer to become homebuyers compared to baby boomers due to rising student debt, low wages, and lack of affordable housing. 

When millennials do get a chance to buy a home their financial constraints are evident, as 31% of millennials surveyed are interested in spending under $200,000—limiting their options. 

Among the barriers to homeownership for millennials is cost, and data from ValuePenguin found that millennial homeownership fell 20% between 2009 and 2016.

ValuePenguin said that the population of homeowners under the age of 35 fell from 9.2 million in 2009 to 7.3 million in 2016. Additionally, the number of millennials who are renting during that same period increased from 14.6 million to 15.2 million.

HireAHelper also reported that the average home for millennials is worth 6.4 years’ of incomes, which is a 15% increase from the 5.6 years’ of income for an average home of both baby boomers and Gen Xers. 

Clever found that of those that said they’d pay more for a haunted house were willing to pay up to 50% more for a haunted home. Additionally, 41% of respondents said they would pay up to 25% less, and 34% said they’d pay up to 50% less.

The report also found that 54% of all surveyed were less likely to buy a home if it was haunted. This is far behind the 84% who said they are less likely to buy if near high crime, 80% who wouldn't buy if it was near waste management, and 75% who were hesitant to buy a home that was near a prison or was a former meth lab.