It may come as no surprise that the building industry, like many others, must constantly strive to adapt to its marketplace. It must try, as others do, to stay one step ahead on market trends, fierce competition and the ever-changing fabric of American life.

In an effort to satisfy diverse sectors of the home buying public and live up to their credo of total customer satisfaction, homebuilder Kaufman and Broad has gone one step further, especially at two new home communities it is currently building in southern California, Lori Lane in Garden Grove, and Stonegate in Anaheim. Because the buyer demographic for these in-fill neighborhoods was recognized early on as including a healthy Asian component, K & B decided it would take no chances on their new homes appealing to their buyer market. They did this by hiring a professional "Feng Shui" consultant to assist them in "fine-tuning" their already approved homes, neighborhoods and floor plans, so that buyers adhering to this ancient and time-honored belief structure would be happy with their choices in new homes.

Feng Shui, literally defined as "wind and water", is the practice of creating harmony and balance between all elements in the physical world, so that one's spirit may find more peace, good fortune, and prosperity as they proceed down life's path. Creating this atmosphere is becoming more and more important to many new homebuilders not only for their Asian market, but also for the practicality and attractiveness the practice of it can bring about for buyers of any culture. Sometimes it is the placement of a tree, the angle of a staircase, the addition of or deletion of a window or door, or the changing of textures in a certain architectural element of a house that can mean the difference between a Feng Shui "correct" home, and one that carries seemingly undesirable characteristics.

As an example of much of America's lack of knowledge in this ancient tradition, Kaufman & Broad Marketing Director Kim Adams relates the following vignette. Construction personnel at one of these communities kept finding coins placed on floors and ledges of new homes at various locations during construction. Not realizing nor understanding their purpose, they blithely collected them, only to later find how upset the individuals placing them became.

Why? Angi Ma Wong, Feng Shui consultant, explains, "These coins are placed at strategic locations in a new home to bring good fortune and health to the eventual occupants, and should never, never be removed." With Wong's guidance and educational seminars to both builder and sales personnel, Feng Shui and cultural enlightenment came into the picture. When one potential home buyer rejected the decision to buy a certain home because of the archway over the entry, Wong was able to explain to the builder that was indeed not the archway itself that was in conflict with Feng Shui principles; it was the stone that surrounded it. The builder had planned a sharp, flat variety to enhance the entry; not a desirable texture as guests entered the home. When the builder changed it to a smooth, more rounded stone surface, the archway became completely acceptable, and the buyer was able to go ahead with the purchase.

Wong is no fringe participant to the Feng Shui movement among new home builders. Having spent the past 11 years as a sales and marketing corporate trainer and inter-cultural consultant, Wong has assisted more than 90 homebuilders internationally in planning and correcting their neighborhoods and floor plans, and training sales and marketing personnel as well. She has appeared on the "Oprah Winfrey Show" and is a regular guest speaker at conventions, seminars and workshops. You may visit her web site at http://www.wind-water.com.

"Oftentimes the remedies for Feng Shui are inexpensive," says Adams. "Moving a tree over by a few feet, so as not to block an entry or window, adding a mirror to a wall facing a door, or placing a bush around a utility obstruction in a yard can make a tremendous difference to buyers."

The elimination or remedying of non-Feng Shui-correct items by a builder, it is believed, may permit some buyers to "bond" with their new homes more quickly, without having to bring in their own Feng Shui consultants to correct glaring conflicts. Understanding the culture behind these traditions can also breed a healthy respect from both building and sales personnel as well, permitting them to relate to larger segments home buyers.

There will always be some violations to the Feng Shui principles that cannot be easily fixed by homeowners or overlooked by builders, however. A house that sits atop a hill unprotected from the wind and rains is a tough objection to overcome. Stairways that make a straight line for the front door are not easy to relocate and expensive to redesign. Homes placed facing out from the end of a street or cul-de-sac, which can permit for too much "sha", or negative energy to pass through them, cannot be moved to other locations. For homes in which remedy is difficult to achieve, builders must hope for the best and make, perhaps, a number of changes to be made for them to become marketable. Adams admits that the two subdivisions where Wong's services are being used are fortunately not in those categories, and only minor corrections need to take place for optimum results.

Sensitivity to the diverse needs of homebuyers, based on market trends and demographics will always be a fascinating element within the building industry. And it is those builders that are the most sensitive to their marketplace that may ultimately succeed in gaining the largest marketshare. What many homebuilders are now finding, however, is that applying the basic principles of Feng Shui can somehow make their neighborhoods more marketable even in locales where the Asian influence is not as keen. This may be due to the practical and "balancing" effect these precepts have on any building, making them unexplainably easier to digest for a wide variety of homebuyers.

Published: March 8, 2000

Use of this article without permission is a violation of federal copyright laws.