The unsellable house: 16 years and still no buyer

This home remains unsellable after 16 years of attempts. Potential buyers find it hard to look past the property’s dark past.

JonBenét Ramsey’s house still can’t sell. Picture: Ramsey family collection/ Discovery+; David Zalubowski/AP

The infamous home where pageant star JonBenét Ramsey was found murdered remains unsellable nearly three decades after the girl’s death.

Despite eight separate attempts to find a buyer, the sprawling mansion in Boulder, Colorado, has become a real estate pariah, shrouded in its dark history.

The property, most recently listed in March 2023 for a steep $US6.95 million ($A10.8 million), has languished on the market, the New York Post reports.

Even after the price dropped by $US701,000 ($A1.09 million) seven months later, prospective buyers stayed away.

Now, more than a year later — and as a docu-series on the murder continues trending on Netflix — the home has been quietly taken off the market again.

The grand estate has undergone significant renovations in hopes of distancing itself from its grim past.

Yet the house’s link to one of America’s most infamous unsolved murders continues to overshadow its appeal.

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JonBenét Ramsey was found dead in the basement of her family’s home in Boulder, Colorado on Dec 26 1996. Picture: Boulder Police Department

The Colorado home where Ramsey was found murdered has had difficult finding a new buyer for over 16 years. Picture: David Zalubowski/AP

The tragic story of JonBenét Ramsey captivated the world when the six-year-old beauty queen was discovered bound and strangled in the basement of her family’s home on Dec 26 1996.

As detailed in the documentary, “Cold Case: Who Killed JonBenét Ramsey,” a ransom note and a desperate 911 call from her mother, the late Patsy, initially pointed to a kidnapping.

Hours later, her father, John found JonBenét’s body in a rarely used basement room.

The murder, still unsolved, remains a cold case that grips true-crime followers to this day.

JonBenét Ramsey holds a backpack and plastic apple in an undated family photo. Picture: Ramsey family collection/ Discovery+

John and Patsy Ramsey, the parents of JonBenet Ramsey. Picture: Helen H. Richardson/ The Denver Post

JonBenét inside her living room during Christmas Dec 25 1993. Picture:

Since the Ramseys moved out of the home in the wake of the tragedy, the property has been sold a couple times but never fully embraced by its owners.

It was purchased by an investor group in 1998 for $US650,000 with proceeds donated to a children’s charity in JonBenét’s honour.

In 2004, Timothy and Carol Minor bought the house for $US1.05 million, but have been trying to sell it on and off since 2008.

A viral TikTok video about the house shows before and after photos.

“Who would want to buy a house where a little girl was murdered and will always be in the news cycle?” One person commented on the video.

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Before and after photos of the kitchen and formal living area, which has been turned into an office. Picture: TikTok/zillowtastrophes

Before and after photos of the dining room and the basement turned into a wine cellar, where her body was located. Picture: TikTok/zillowtastrophes

A photo of JonBenet’s bedroom. Picture: Netflix

Before and after photos of another part of the basement. Picture: TikTok/zillowtastrophes

Before and after photos of one of the bathrooms. Picture: TikTok/zillowtastrophes

The latest listing featured a polished version of the mansion. Photos showed a sleek kitchen with professional-grade appliances and a formal dining room.

Upstairs, JonBenét’s former bedroom still holds haunting significance, even with its private balcony and elegant touches.

Nestled in Boulder’s upscale University Hill neighbourhood, the home boasts privacy and charm with towering trees, a gated brick and wrought-iron fence, and classic Tudor architecture.

But none of these features can seem to overcome the weight of its past.

Parts of this story first appeared in the New York Post and were republished with permission.

Originally published as The unsellable house: 16 years and still no buyer