{"id":27596,"date":"2026-09-23T04:49:53","date_gmt":"2026-09-23T04:49:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/?p=27596"},"modified":"2026-09-23T04:49:53","modified_gmt":"2026-09-23T04:49:53","slug":"how-rising-house-prices-have-forced-taiwan-to-settle-for-haunted-homes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/?p=27596","title":{"rendered":"How rising house prices have forced Taiwan to settle for \u2018haunted homes\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"e9jwa\">\n<div class=\"vdo_embedd\">\n<div class=\"GfdvZ\">\n<section class=\"_bIDB  clearfix id-r-component leadmedia undefined undefined  E9tg9 \" style=\"top:0px\">\n<div class=\"_bIDB\" data-ua-type=\"1\" onclick=\"stpPgtnAndPrvntDefault(event)\">\n<div class=\"ypVvZ\">\n<div class=\"WGttI\"><img src=\"https:\/\/static.toiimg.com\/thumb\/msid-134416121,imgsize-204948,width-400,height-225,resizemode-4\/taipei-101-on-the-skyline-of-taipei.jpg\" alt=\"How rising house prices have forced Taiwan to settle for \u2018haunted homes\u2019\" title=\"The trend comes as Taiwan's economy continues to grow, expanding by 14 per cent in the first half of 2026, driven by the island's AI and semiconductor industries (Photo: Reuters).\" decoding=\"async\" fetchpriority=\"high\"\/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"Ta7d_ img_cptn\"><span title=\"The trend comes as Taiwan's economy continues to grow, expanding by 14 per cent in the first half of 2026, driven by the island's AI and semiconductor industries (Photo: Reuters).\">The trend comes as Taiwan&#8217;s economy continues to grow, expanding by 14 per cent in the first half of 2026, driven by the island&#8217;s AI and semiconductor industries (Photo: Reuters).<\/span><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Property prices in Taiwan have seen a significant rise, forcing a growing number of buyers to turn towards homes with troubled pasts to find an affordable way to live. \u201cHaunted houses\u201d or \u201cmurder homes,\u201d also known in Mandarin as <span class=\"em\" data-ua-type=\"1\" onclick=\"stpPgtnAndPrvntDefault(event)\">Xiong Zhai<\/span>, these properties are where a previous occupant died in violent or otherwise disturbing circumstances.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"4\"\/>The Times reported that the more violent the death, the lower the asking price tends to be, with some properties selling for as little as half the market rate.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"6\"\/>The trend comes as Taiwan&#8217;s economy continues to grow, expanding by 14 per cent in the first half of 2026, driven by the island&#8217;s AI and semiconductor industries. However, the economic boom has not made housing affordable for everyone, pushing some buyers towards properties that carry a social stigma.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"10\"\/>But the discounts come with difficulties. Banks are often reluctant to lend against such properties because they may struggle to recover their money if a borrower defaults, given the difficulty of reselling them.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"12\"\/>\u201cPeople might see the property as inauspicious and believe it could affect their luck,\u201d real estate agent Wu Kaiwen, told the Times, explaining the reluctance to finance such homes.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"15\"\/>The hesitation reflects Taiwan&#8217;s continuing spiritual traditions despite its status as a technology hub.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"18\"\/>During \u201cghost month\u201d, which runs until mid-September, people believe the gates of the underworld open and spirits return to earth. Some temples leave out food offerings during the period to appease them.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"20\"\/>Many buyers who choose a xiong zhai arrange ceremonies intended to release any lingering spirits from the property before moving in.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"22\"\/>Spiritual practitioners say such ceremonies are performed with the aim of helping a lingering spirit leave and cleansing the property so that negative energy associated with the death does not affect the new occupants.<\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/timesofindia.indiatimes.com\/real-estate\/news\/how-rising-house-prices-have-forced-taiwan-to-settle-for-haunted-homes\/articleshow\/134416062.cms\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The trend comes as Taiwan&#8217;s economy continues to grow, expanding by 14 per cent in the first half of 2026, driven by the island&#8217;s AI and semiconductor industries (Photo: Reuters). Property prices in Taiwan have seen a significant rise, forcing a growing number of buyers to turn towards homes with troubled pasts to find an [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":27597,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-27596","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-31"],"magazineBlocksPostFeaturedMedia":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/taipei-101-on-the-skyline-of-taipei.jpg","medium":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/taipei-101-on-the-skyline-of-taipei.jpg","medium_large":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/taipei-101-on-the-skyline-of-taipei.jpg","large":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/taipei-101-on-the-skyline-of-taipei.jpg","1536x1536":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/taipei-101-on-the-skyline-of-taipei.jpg","2048x2048":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/taipei-101-on-the-skyline-of-taipei.jpg","blogsy-small":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/taipei-101-on-the-skyline-of-taipei.jpg","blogsy-small-tall":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/taipei-101-on-the-skyline-of-taipei.jpg","blogsy-small-square":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/taipei-101-on-the-skyline-of-taipei.jpg","blogsy-small-masonry":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/taipei-101-on-the-skyline-of-taipei.jpg","blogsy-medium":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/taipei-101-on-the-skyline-of-taipei.jpg","blogsy-medium-masonry":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/taipei-101-on-the-skyline-of-taipei.jpg","blogsy-large":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/taipei-101-on-the-skyline-of-taipei.jpg","blogsy-wide":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/taipei-101-on-the-skyline-of-taipei.jpg"},"magazineBlocksPostAuthor":{"name":"admin","avatar":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8709732a479614e7a8aa24d3eb1b239f30dc6d90c61464ed495001e7a469d856?s=96&d=mm&r=g"},"magazineBlocksPostCommentsNumber":"0","magazineBlocksPostExcerpt":"The trend comes as Taiwan&#8217;s economy continues to grow, expanding by 14 per cent in the first half of 2026, driven by the island&#8217;s AI and semiconductor industries (Photo: Reuters). Property prices in Taiwan have seen a significant rise, forcing a growing number of buyers to turn towards homes with troubled pasts to find an [&hellip;]","magazineBlocksPostCategories":["\u0b26\u0b47\u0b36 \u0b2c\u0b3f\u0b26\u0b47\u0b36"],"magazineBlocksPostViewCount":1,"magazineBlocksPostReadTime":2,"magazine_blocks_featured_image_url":{"full":["https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/taipei-101-on-the-skyline-of-taipei.jpg",400,225,false],"medium":["https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/taipei-101-on-the-skyline-of-taipei.jpg",300,169,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/taipei-101-on-the-skyline-of-taipei.jpg",150,84,false]},"magazine_blocks_author":{"display_name":"admin","author_link":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/author\/admin"},"magazine_blocks_comment":0,"magazine_blocks_author_image":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8709732a479614e7a8aa24d3eb1b239f30dc6d90c61464ed495001e7a469d856?s=96&d=mm&r=g","magazine_blocks_category":"<a href=\"#\" class=\"category-link category-link-31\">\u0b26\u0b47\u0b36 \u0b2c\u0b3f\u0b26\u0b47\u0b36<\/a>","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27596","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=27596"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27596\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/27597"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=27596"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=27596"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=27596"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}