Odd bunker house comes with basement – and nothing else

It may look like an AI glitch, but this underground house in Kansas is a real, bricks-and-mortar property. 

To 21st-century househunters, the half-buried bunker house is an unusual sight. 

But 80 years ago, homes like these could be spotted all over the United States. 

Known as ‘basement houses’ or ‘hope houses’, the idea was that low-income families could build their home gradually in stages.

Households would begin by building the basement, adding a roof so that they could live there while they saved up enough money to build the upper storeys. 

The model can be dated back to at least the 1920s, but gained a boost in popularity in the 1940s as World War II veterans returned home. 

Some families never managed to add the upper storeys and these unfinished basement houses remain in small communities today as a relic of the past. 

One such property is up for sale in the rural town of Canton, Kansas. 

The house was built in 1942 and features architectural hallmarks of the period such as white weatherboards and concrete tiles. 

It looks like someone has sawn the roof off a classic midcentury bungalow and left it on the ground. 

Inside, the basement is in an unfinished state. Timber joists, electric wires and bare concrete walls give the sense of living in a construction site.

The property is being sold as a “project residence” with “lots of potential”. 

It comes with an accompanying garage. The seller will also leave spare construction materials for the new owner. 

The house is listed with an asking price of $US35,000 ($53,600). 

Buyers will need to pay in cash, as the house does not qualify for a traditional mortgage. 

Tiffani Floyd from Four Seasons Realtors is the listing agent.