"House Where Someone Died Sold Cheaply"... This Place with Haunted Property Listings Gains Attention

10~30% Cheaper Than Market Price
"Demand from Foreign Investors and Others"

A report has emerged that in Hong Kong, one of the areas with the highest housing prices in the world, "haunted house listings" are gaining attention as an alternative way to buy homes at about 30% below market price.

On the 20th, the South China Morning Post (SCMP) in Hong Kong reported the story of Mr. Gun Lau, an investor specializing in haunted houses in Hong Kong. Mr. Gun Lau is an investor who exclusively buys and sells properties where the owner or tenant died due to accidents or other causes, earning him the nickname "King of Ghost Apartments."

(This photo is not directly related to the article) A newly constructed high-rise building in Hong Kong burned down Photo by Yonhap News

The reason he became interested in haunted house listings dates back 31 years. In 1993, a worker died in an accident in one of the apartments he owned. Even after putting the apartment up for sale at a low price, no buyers appeared.

In Hong Kong, houses where unnatural deaths such as murder, suicide, or accidents have occurred are often avoided by residents despite their low prices, due to the belief that the spirits of the deceased will bring misfortune to the next occupants.

Then Mr. Gun Lau found a buyer willing to purchase the apartment, who turned out to be a foreigner. He said, "If you have patience, you can succeed in selling bad real estate," adding, "Foreigners and overseas Chinese are less influenced by Chinese superstitions, so they form the customer base in the 'haunted house market.'"

In Hong Kong, apartments where deaths from suicide, murder, or accidents have occurred are known to be priced 10-30% lower than market value. This explains the demand from foreign investors who do not mind the haunted status. In an interview with SCMP, Mr. Gun Lau said, "Foreigners do not understand Cantonese (a dialect spoken in Hong Kong and southwestern China), so they think ghosts will not talk to them. They are very happy to rent houses where ghosts appear."

SCMP added that while there may be demand for such real estate, patience, understanding of cultural differences, and willingness to take risks are necessary.

In fact, Dragon Lodge on Victoria Peak is famous in Hong Kong as a "haunted house." This mansion is rumored to be haunted by the ghosts of Catholic nuns executed by the Japanese army during World War II, and there are eyewitness accounts of crying sounds echoing in the corridors. Since being sold in 2004 for 74 million Hong Kong dollars (about 12.7 billion KRW), the mansion has remained abandoned for decades and is known to be viewable only from a distance by onlookers. An apartment in Wan Chai, Hong Kong, has also had no buyers or tenants since a British man murdered two women there in 2014.