Living Near The Dead: Do Homes Near Cemeteries Sell For Less?
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – With Halloween approaching, one real estate website was apparently "dying to know" whether or not houses near cemeteries really sell for less, and the results might surprise you.
Redfin.com, a website dedicated to real estate, says it averaged the price of homes less than 50 feet from a graveyard and compared it to homes farther away – 100, 200, 500 and 1,000 yards away.
What Redfin found is that while homes near cemeteries tend to be smaller, they typically sell for more per square foot. On average, a house near a cemetery went for $162 per square foot, compared with $145 per square foot for the homes 500 yards away from the tombs.
Unsurprisingly, homes near cemeteries do take longer to sell – an average of 48 days for residences less than 50 feet from a burial ground, compared to 39 for those 500 yards away.
"I have a current listing that backs up to a cemetery, and 10 to 15 people have toured the home. One potential buyer provided feedback that it was a deal breaker, but that is just one of many. In my opinion, cemeteries make very quiet neighbors!" Redfin Philadelphia real estate agent Blakely Minton said.
And if you're looking for a house in Philadelphia and living in close proximity to the dead doesn't bother you, you're actually in luck: According to Redfin, the City of Brotherly Love has the second highest number of homes for sale near a cemetery in the country.
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