Why there’s growing interest in buying million-dollar ghost towns

Though John Voight lives alone on his sprawling 225-acre property, he’s part of a group of hundreds of Americans who’ve bought ghost towns.

Churches and corporations are among other interested buyers with companies often buying the properties as a marketing strategy, while individuals often buy their vast empires of solitude to preserve history or launch a new enterprise, according to The Outline.

“There is not a demographic out there that does not want to buy a ghost town,” real estate agent Jake Rasmuson told the The Outline. He handled the listing of a ghost town called Cerro Gordo, which was a former silver mining town that emptied out in the 1860s. He took calls from interested buyers all over the world and finally sold the town with 22 historic buildings for $1.4 million in July.

The buyers, Texas entrepreneurs Brent Underwood and Jon Bier, plan on adding modern infrastructure and turning the town into a retreat for companies and creatives. Music festivals and performance groups have already been in touch with them to book the abandoned site.

“There’s probably better places to put your money right now than buying a ghost town. But at the end of the day, you have to think to yourself, what do I make money for? And for me personally, if I had an infinite amount of money, I would probably do something like buy a ghost town,” Underwood told The Outline by way of explaining his unusual investment. [The Outline]—Erin Hudson