Does the Stigma of a Haunted House Really Cause Property Value to Plummet?

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - The stigma of a “haunted” house is considered to have a significant impact on property selling prices. In several cases, this label is even said to be able to reduce the price by more than half of the market value. Deputy General Chairman of the Central Executive Board of the Indonesian Real Estate Council (Waketum DPP REI) Bambang Ekajaya stated that negative perceptions towards properties with certain histories drastically reduce buyer interest, especially if the case has gone viral in the media. “A house with a haunted stigma will indeed greatly reduce the selling value of that property. Especially if it gets covered and goes viral, it will reduce interest and the selling price can be more than half of the market,” said Bambang to Kompas.com on Sunday (26/4/2026). He explained that properties with histories of tragic events such as robberies accompanied by murders or suicides tend to be difficult to market. “If marketed normally, it will take a long time to sell, especially if a horrific and sensational event has occurred,” he said. Bambang also shared his experience when one of his properties experienced a similar incident. The property was rented to a tenant who was in debt due to gambling amounting to billions of rupiah. The tenant then ended his life in the property, and the incident was exposed in the media. According to him, after the incident, the property did not sell despite being marketed for more than three years. “The property was marketed for more than three years, there were no buyers,” he said. To address the situation, the step taken was to demolish the old building and rebuild it with a new design. After that, the property was finally sold. “In the end, we demolished the building and built a new one with a contemporary design, then it could be sold,” said Bambang.