Neighbourhood Watch: Feng Shui: Is it relevant in today's dynamic market?

Feng Shui is an ancient Chinese practice that has been followed for thousands of years in the East. Today we are witnessing a worldwide following and it may be worth evaluating its role in property development.

Will a developer be able to sell or rent his product more easily if he has built with the Feng Shui philosophy in mind? This perhaps would depend on the part of the world in which the development is taking place.

One can see the practice of Feng Shui being followed more rigidly in the East and its counterpart, Vastushastra, in the Subcontinent where it is not a matter of consideration, but often a standard requirement. We are certainly seeing an increase in interest with respect to these philosophies and it may be prudent for developers to look more carefully into its commercial value.

The awareness of this practice has grown substantially over the years and it is not uncommon for a client to express his desire to find a property that is built within Feng Shui parameters.

One client for example may ask questions with respect to numerology and another may ask to be sure the front door of the house or apartment is facing north/east, or that the front door sees the sun rise. Some people will carry a compass to establish the direction of the door, thus ensuring accuracy.

When supply was low and demand was high, there was little choice when it came to leasing a property and it was natural for compromises to be made under such circumstances. For the most part, tenants following Feng Shui practices were only able to address the internal aspects of the residence leaving little choice with respect to the external features.

With the rapid development of the sales market, one would expect to see increased purchases by people from Asia and the Subcontinent and it is realistic to expect the demand for this consideration to increase accordingly. It might therefore be worthwhile for a developer to be aware of these concerns and investigate the intrinsic value being added to a property should such parameters be followed.

With greater choices today, purchasers can afford to be more demanding and we are experiencing an interest in Feng Shui that crosses both residential and commercial property. There is no question that real estate agents are being asked specific questions regarding these arts and often find clients rejecting a property in lieu of one that they feel is more in harmony with the environment.

From the developer's point of view, it may be easy to follow a few of the common rules such as where the front door is positioned in a villa or where the conference room is located in an office.

There is no question that rents would be substantially less in certain parts of the world if the building is not designed to counter so called 'bad Feng Shui'. With only minor investments and some increased initiative, an investor may increase the saleability of his property. It may not be a priority today, but with the dynamic market we are seeing in real estate, it could be the right time to research this subject.

The writer is the UAE-based managing director of Better Homes LLC