It's that time of the year again. The Hungry Ghost Festival has begun. Offerings and joss paper are everywhere, and ghost stories suddenly become everyone's favourite conversation topic. So here's one more to add to the list.

Would you buy a home where someone died? Or, what if you're the one selling that home?

Does a death actually affect a property's value? Are you required to tell buyers? And can a home with such a history ever be just another home again?

Singapore is a small island with limited land, which means land gets repurposed all the time. As our city developed, many former cemeteries have been exhumed and redeveloped into housing estates, parks, schools, expressways and other public infrastructure.

Some well-known examples include Bidadari, which was once one of Singapore's largest cemeteries before it was transformed into a new housing estate. Another one is Bishan, where the former Peck San Theng cemetery eventually gave way to today's town. Even the grounds beneath several roads, MRT lines and public facilities have undergone similar transitions over the decades.

So most of us have probably walked, worked or even lived on land where people were once buried, yet the thought rarely crosses our minds.

But if you're looking at resale properties and your agent tells you the previous owner passed away in one of the bedrooms, you'll probably think twice before making an offer, even if the unit is perfect in any other way.

So why do we react so differently?

Maybe it's because a former cemetery feels like history, while a home feels more personal. It's much easier to imagine the person who lived there. You picture them cooking in the kitchen, watching TV in the living room or sleeping in the bedroom. Some people just find the thought uncomfortable. Others may worry about whether the home is haunted.

That being said, not every death carries the same weight in buyers' minds.

Some people actually might not mind if the previous owner had passed away peacefully after living in the home for decades, especially if there's a discount.

However, a suicide, homicide or unattended death can leave a much stronger impression, particularly if the incident was widely reported. Even if you're not superstitious, you might reconsider purchasing such a home because it might be hard to sell later on, which brings us to our next point:

Well, it depends on how many buyers are still willing to consider it.

Unlike valuation methods or stamp duties, there isn't an official formula that says a property where someone died must be worth a certain percentage less. In the end, it all comes down to demand.

While we don't have studies on how much death in the home affects property values in Singapore, a 2018 study in Hong Kong found that homes where an unnatural death had occurred sold for about 25% less on average than comparable properties.

More importantly, the effect was not limited to the unit itself. Homes on the same floor also saw price declines, albeit smaller. Researchers also found that the impact varied depending on whether the death was a suicide, murder or accident. The spillover effect on nearby homes began to reverse after around four to five years, but the discount on the affected unit itself was more persistent.

But that doesn't mean every home in Singapore will see a similar discount. A rare unit in a sought-after location may still attract plenty of interest, while another property could take longer to sell simply because buyers have more alternatives. Ultimately, the property's history can affect its price and value, but it's not automatic.The spillover effect on nearby homes began to reverse after around four to five years. However, the study found that the discount on the affected unit itself was more persistent.

This is probably the question most homeowners really want answered.

In a resale-property transaction, the general starting point is caveat emptor, or "buyer beware". Buyers are expected to make their own enquiries before deciding whether a home is acceptable to them. There does not appear to be a general legal requirement for every seller to volunteer that someone previously died in the property.

But caveat emptor is not permission to mislead. If a buyer directly asks whether a death occurred in the home, the seller or salesperson should not give a false answer, conceal the truth through a misleading half-statement or present an assumption as fact.

So the practical distinction is between not volunteering information that was never requested and misrepresenting the property's history after a specific question has been asked. A buyer who considers this important should ask clearly and record the answer before committing to the purchase.

In a city where land is limited, neighbourhoods evolve and generations come and go, it's only natural that some properties will have witnessed both life's happiest moments and its final ones.

For buyers, whether that's something you can live with is a deeply personal decision. Some may not care at all, while others may feel uncomfortable regardless of the circumstances. Practical considerations, such as future resale potential, may also come into play.

For sellers, a death in the home doesn't automatically make a property unsellable. While certain circumstances may narrow the pool of interested buyers, location, layout, condition and asking price will still influence whether the remaining buyers see sufficient value.

The useful question is not whether you personally believe a home can carry a stigma. It is whether the next buyer might. A buyer who accepts such a property should therefore expect compensation through price, while a seller should recognise that silence does not remove the concern; it may merely postpone it until the buyer or salesperson raises the question. In property, beliefs do not have to be rational to affect demand.