A Grand House or a Haunted Memory?

Imagine in search of a property you come across a grand old house with high ceilings, a central location, a solid structure that holds decades of history. Beautiful, isn’t it?  Now imagine that same house is famously known as a “House of Horror” in the city. Would you still be interested in buying it?

This is the question that surrounds many properties around the world including one chilling example from Kolkata. 

The Chilling Tale of 3 Robinson Street, Kolkata

In 2015 a man named Partha De was found living with the skeleton of his sister and two dead dogs in a decaying mansion on 3 Robinson Street, Kolkata while his father’s charred body lay in the bathroom. The beautiful home was quickly named as “House of Horror” by the media creating negative perception about the property. 

The Price of Perception

According to the media reports this house was sold at a whopping 20 crore in 2017. Sounds like a good deal? But in the same locality, properties with similar structure can be easily sold for 25 to 30 crores or even more. But what led to this price degradation? 

Property prices are not only affected by its size and location but also by its history, social beliefs and surroundings. 

The news surrounding the Robinson Street case created a negative perception in the area associating it with a tragic and psychologically disturbing event. This negative association could have discouraged potential buyers leading to a decrease in demand and potentially lowering prices for properties in the area. 

Psychological Impact :
The gruesome nature of the situation has a psychological impact on potential buyers, deterring them from considering properties in the area. This psychological effect could have been particularly strong for families with children, people who have superstitious beliefs might have been more concerned about the potential negative impact.

Emotional and Cultural beliefs: 

In a country like India emotional and cultural beliefs strongly affect decisions related to property. Houses with haunting past, tragedy, crime, unnatural death or paranormal activities are considered as inauspicious even if the house is perfect on paper.

Reluctance from Financial Institutions:

In many cases banks and NBFCs hesitate to finance such properties especially if there’s negative press or unclear legal history. This makes transactions harder and further discourages buyers.

Negative Publicity: 

When a property has been in the news for disturbing reasons like a murder, suicide or mysterious disappearance it gets widely associated with those events in public memory. This “Google stigma” means even future buyers researching the property online will come across the story keeping the shadow alive for years.

Longer Time on Market

Stigmatized or horror-associated properties typically take much longer to sell. Extended days on the market often push sellers to drop the price just to close the deal. Properties that stay unsold also raise suspicion among buyers even those unfamiliar with the story.

Social Avoidance After Purchase

Even if one buys such a property they might face passive social resistance from their friends, relatives and neighbors refusing to visit, gossiping and even community isolation. These behaviour can often lead to mental stress for people living in the house adding to the property’s negative reputation.

Conclusion
The long-term effects of the negative perception on property values in the area are difficult to determine as they could vary depending on a number of factors including the specific location of properties, their condition and the overall market conditions. However, it is likely that the negative association with the case would have had a lasting impact on the area’s reputation, potentially leading to lower prices for properties in the future.