16 Weird Real Estate Listings You Won’t Believe

By Julia Del Rosario

As a real estate agent, have you ever sold a weird house? Or have you tried marketing one? From bizarre architectural wonders to properties with exciting histories, here’s a glimpse into the eccentric side of real estate. Scroll through my roundup of weird real estate listings and tips on promoting unconventional houses.

1. The biggest man cave — Gilbert, Arizona

An estate with a race track (Source: Zillow)

This house has a place for Go-Karts inside the massive garage (Source: Zillow).

Wow, I’ll probably never leave my house again if this is where I live. This man cave boasts a Go-Kart race track, shooting range, golf simulator, basketball gym, pool, and more. If you get this kind of listing, the perfect target market would be sports and recreation enthusiasts. Think NBA players, sports professionals, tech moguls, or even royals. Would you consider this Arizona property if you had an extra $20 million lying around?

2. The show must go on — New Berlin, Wisconsin

A totally normal single-family property … from the outside (Source: Realtor.com)

Use the built-in theater to host a virtual tour. (Source: Realtor.com)

An entertainment room with a stage, tables, and chairs for audiences (Source: Realtor.com)

At first glance, this place doesn’t look that weird. But you’ll never really know until you enter the house. Owned by a theater enthusiast, this home would appeal to producers and creatives in the entertainment industry. Inside, you’ll be greeted by rooms with quirky decor, a theater, a bar, and dens. It could be ideal for theater buffs and people who love entertaining, but you could also use virtual home staging to overlay these weird features and attract more buyers.

3. Straight out of a sci-fi film — Portland, Oregon

A gray post-modern house with a pool, glass windows, and stunning views of nature (Source: Realtor.com)

Is this the Marvel Avengers’ new base? (Source: Realtor.com)

A game room overlooking Portland’s skyline. I’m in. (Source: Realtor.com)

A modern wine cellar and tasting room (Source: Realtor.com)

With an almost $7 million listing price, this ultramodern Portland house looks straight out of a sci-fi film. It has stainless steel front doors, glass walls, stone floors, and imported Italian stone slabs. If you get a similar listing, this house’s selling point would be the 270-degree views of the city and river from its glass windows. Bring your wine glass for this tasting room as you celebrate the nice commission this will bring.

4. Live under a rock … literally — Palm Springs, California

Built in 1929, this home is now for rent at $8,300 per month. Above Araby Cove in Palm Springs, the property features handmade fireplace tools, handcrafted doors and windows, and a secret room behind a bookcase. Another unique thing about this home is that the original owner, Perle Martin Wheeler, has her name carved into a nook in the wall.

5. 99 bottles of beer on the wall — Tucson, Arizona

Who drank all the beer while building this house? (Source: Realtor.com)

What a view while preparing dinner (Source: Realtor.com)

Check out this artsy dining room. (Source: Realtor.com)

Whoa, there are a lot of extraordinary houses in Arizona. As of writing, this property in Tucson is already off the market. It has three bedrooms, three deep-rock fireplaces, a guest cottage, and an outdoor kitchen. According to the listing description, the bottles serve as insulation for this home, but I imagine they also allow sunlight to filter in.

6. Chris Mark Castle — Woodstock, Connecticut

Time to look for clients who would love to live like Disney princesses. (Source: Zillow)

It must be nice to wake up in a castle. (Source: Zillow)

OK, here’s a “normal” house in Connecticut. It actually looks very typical … if you’re royalty. The Chris Mark Castle boasts 18,777 square feet of living space, nine bedrooms, 10 baths, and 12 fireplaces (yup, 12). Luxury and high-end listings often take longer to sell since the pool of buyers is much smaller.

7. Wanted: Trick-or-treaters — Brumley, Missouri

A real-life haunted house. The stuff of homebuyers’ dreams; nightmares, that is. (Source: Zillow)

A house complete with its dead people. (Source: Zillow)

Built around 1890, the Haunted Castle House in Missouri has since been an icon at the Lake of Ozarks. There is a cemetery in the backyard. People visit the house for paranormal investigations, guided tours, and special events. If you get a haunted house listing, market it to historic preservationists, paranormal enthusiasts, filmmakers, and tourism professionals. Also, check with your state’s disclosure laws on what you must share with prospective buyers.

8. The Mardi Gras House — Mobile, Alabama

According to the listing, it’s referred to as the Mardi Gras House because of its vibrant hues and proximity to all things Mardi Gras. It features a grand foyer, five bedrooms, a wraparound porch, and two balconies. If you ever get this listing, mentioning that it was previously called the Petrinovich House Inn and built as a boarding house in the historic Church Street East neighborhood would be helpful, especially if someone wants to run it as an Airbnb.

9. Ready for takeoff — Justin, Texas

A parking lot for all of your clients’ planes. (Source: Realtor.com)

Who needs cars when the neighborhood has its own runway (Source: Realtor.com)

A massive garage with parked bikes and a space that can fit an aircraft (Source: Realtor.com)

OK, we don’t see houses with hangars and runways every day. So, I guess this isn’t normal. Do you have potential buyers who own airplanes? Or clients who are aviation enthusiasts? This single-family property in Texas features three bedrooms, quartz countertops, storm shelters, a fire pit, and a game room. Pilots or executives who own a plane are the perfect market for this type of property. The runway is privately owned for a public use airport.

10. Strike while the iron is hot — Alpine, New Jersey

Help your clients strike their way to homebuying victory with these dueling bowling alleys. This posh manor looks more fabulous than weird. Located in Alpine, NJ (which explains the $16.7 million sold price), the property features over 22,700 square feet of living space, a brick exterior, 25 rooms, a tennis court, a home theater, and two state-of-the-art bowling alleys.

11. The Origami House — Whistler, British Columbia

If you ever want to live in a house with panoramic views of nature and a likeness to origami folding, this one’s for you. Currently valued at $12 million, this home was designed by the architects of the Audain Art Museum in Whistler, Canada. I don’t know about you, but I get dizzy looking at it from this angle. The views and interior design make it worth it.

12. A hobbit house — Elverson, Pennsylvania

Tolkien fans, this looks like a house from The Lord of the Rings. (Source: Realtor.com)

Does Frodo live here? (Source: Compass)

This unique “hobbit” home sits on a four-acre lot in Elverson, Pennsylvania. It’s the lot that was for sale, but the buyer still gets to keep the house built into the grass. The home features a grass roof to save on heating and cooling costs, arched walls, and oversized windows.

13. Looks pretty normal from the outside — Palm Springs, California

Wait until you see the inside! (Source: Realtor.com)

You’ll never guess what the owner’s favorite color is. (Source: Realtor.com)

That’s a lot of … orange (Source: Realtor.com)

At first, this off-market property looks like any other house in Palm Springs. But wow, you never know what’s inside a home until you step in. Those shades of pink and orange are a little weird if you ask me. This house can be a movie set. What else is unique about this home is that it was the residence of a local legend, Jack Stephan, known as the Plumber to the Stars.

14. There’s a tree inside the property! — Ashland, Oregon

A work of art that costs $5.9 million (Source: Zillow)

It must’ve taken so much time to build this masterpiece. (Source: Zillow)

There’s a lot to love about this jaw-dropping home in Oregon. Every nook and cranny is a work of art. It has an outdoor entertainment space, pool, signature staircase, and rooms with magnificent views of the mountains. You’ll see tree branches and intricate wood carvings in some furniture, walls, and doors. This exotic and beautiful home is listed for $4.5 million and has been on Zillow for over three years.

15. A spaceship home — Somonauk, Illinois

This home will have your buyers saying, “Beam me up, Scotty.” (Source: Realtor.com)

This home sure looks like it can land anywhere. (Source: Realtor.com)

This off-market property, a one-of-a-kind dome-shaped house in Somonauk, Illinois, was on sale for $475,000. Not only does it look like it’s about to fly away, but it is settled on a 12-foot foundation that can rotate electronically or manually. If your buyers don’t like their view, they can change it. Other than its exterior, everything looks completely normal inside.

16. The Robert Bruno steel house — Ransom Canyon, Texas

This house is shaped like a pig, or a space-age creature. (Source: Zillow)

Now that’s a fashionable house. (Source: Vogue)

How do you feel about a unique twisty and bendy staircase? (Source: Zillow)

The famous Robert Bruno Steel House in Ransom Canyon, Texas, is still on the market for $1.5 million. The house features a gourmet kitchen, three bedrooms, a walk-out balcony, and walls made from recycled steel. It’s wonky, wild, and wonderful inside and used as a Vogue Magazine photoshoot backdrop.

Tips for Marketing Weird Houses

Promoting the most unusual homes can be fun. Here are some strategies to effectively market the weirdest houses.

• Stage the house creatively: Enhance the overall vibe of the property by using furniture and decor that match each space. You can also use virtual home staging software to overlay outdated or funky furniture and decor.
• Highlight the property’s unique features: When posting listings of weird houses on listing sites, emphasize the properties’ interesting features, out-of-the-ordinary architecture, and unconventional design and layout. Write a realistic description of what it’s like to live on the property.
• Host an open house: Organize open houses to showcase the property. Invite influencers and vloggers specializing in real estate or architecture to promote these houses in unusual places.
• Network; target niche audiences: Identify people interested in funny and strange houses. This could be artists, collectors, or even celebrities looking for a unique abode.
• Social media marketing: Use social media sites such as Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, and TikTok to showcase houses in weird places. Create engaging reels, post photos, and add relevant real estate hashtags to reach a wider audience.