Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Crime Scenes and Murder Houses a Blight on Communities


Removal of evidence from Homolka and Bernardo's House of Horrors
57 Bayview Ave., St. Catharines, Ontario

"With murder houses, the severity of the stigma depends on a few factors, said Barry Lebow, a forensic real estate expert based in Toronto. A well-established neighbourhood with longtime residents will remember the murder and continue to associate it with the house, Lebow said. It also depends on how notorious the murder was, and whether the house was prominent in media coverage of the crime.
A study by two business professors at Wright State University in Ohio found that "stigmatized" or "psychologically affected" houses take 50 per cent longer to sell at an average price that's 2.4 per cent below comparable properties. A gruesome, high-profile murder can lower a selling price by as much as 15 to 35 per cent.
Despite the challenges of selling such a house, research shows esthetic changes can improve the chances .
"If there's been a murder and the house has been out there in the media, the first thing you should do is rearrange the facade of the house," Lebow said. Small changes, such as painting the garage a new colour or switching brass house numbers for plastic ones, can help distance a property from a crime.
Murder houses, however, can continue to attract public attention for years. The St. Catharines, Ont., house that had been rented by notorious murderer and rapist Paul Bernardo and his wife Karla Homolka was torn down in 1995. A new home - reportedly with a new number - was built on the site, Lebow said, but people still drive by to look."



The new home that sits where the house at 57 Bayview Drive once stood


Crime scenes a lasting reminder 'something horrible happened'
Julian Cummins, Edmonton Journal
December 11, 2011

7 comments:

  1. Do you know what the new number is? I tried to look it up on Google earth.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The (beautiful) new home that was built on the site of the old house at 57 Bayview is now listed on "Christie Street" in order to confuse curiosity seekers coming around to gawk at the notorious property. The easiest way to find it on Google is to look up a nearby number and find your way to the corner.

      Here is a picture:

      https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/0pD7UnHpz6IQZ946FvkW-j6UCtaZj8WUUuNEX5z1V7IZUZC327W0w3xb2E2ktU2m_vmENCmcrRk

      Delete
    2. New number is 61 Bayview Dr

      Delete
  2. i still live on dundonald street in saint kitts her parents moved out bout 3 years back and its that imfamous house she killed her sister in honestly well her parents were moving out i swear i seen her helping them move karla was one sick minded bitch

    ReplyDelete
  3. This "house" is now for sale. Yuck!

    https://t.co/6rRf0YVVa7

    ReplyDelete
  4. For thinking it clever to allowing remarks about 'white trash' I'm inclined to regret they didn't have you in that rec room you cowardly, sanctimonious bitch.

    ReplyDelete