FEATURED COLUMNIST
By Dr Alan Poon
Ushering the New Year:
A Real-estate perspective
The metal rat is sneaking in sooner than
expected as Chinese New Year 2020 which
is just around the corner suddenly dawned
upon us. Every Chinese who celebrates this
biggest annual festival of the lunar calendar
usually set aside time to clean their house
from the clutter of the bygone year before
the visitation by relatives and friends. This
activity is called ‘Spring cleaning’ and it
involves the young and old where everyone
does their part to help make sure that
everything is clean and tidy and if there is a
need, even the walls are to be repainted with
a new coat of paint! Almost every livable
corner of the house needs to be in crystal
clean and mint condition to welcome the new
year with hopes and aspiration for good luck
and abundance.
Chinese Lunar New Year, often
celebrated with vibrancy and auspicious
words all over during Spring, signifies that
everything is RESET at the beginning of the
year. This is much like the welcoming of a
new year in the Gregorian calendar on 1st
of January too. The real estate market is no
different where the industry usually gets
busy with the outlook for the year in terms
of how the real estate is expected to perform
in a different type of property built as subject
matter experts take their views on the market
and make their voice heard in the media.
Every year, the market sentiment always
starts slowly with lots of hope and enthusiasm
as many will be cautiously optimistic about
the future that lies ahead.
OUT WITH THE OLD,
IN WITH THE NEW PAINTING THE TOWN RED
(TRADITIONS & DECORATIONS)
Be it at home or office, most Chinese
residents or business owners will ensure
their residences and premises be free of
the unnecessary ‘garbage’ after a year of
the items being stagnant occupying the
respective spaces. Similar to the process
of defragmentation in our computers, this
annual decluttering of our living and working
space is a standard observation which form
a habit, in fact, a compulsory culture for the
Chinese. The culture is that every old beliefs
and bad habits must come to an end making
room for the new ones. It’s like a magic spell
everyone is waiting for each year, having
gone through tough times in the past year. Red is the trendy colour of the season. Almost
everywhere is decorated with lanterns,
angpows and flowers to welcome Spring not
just for the outdoor but indoor in today’s
context. Since red signifies auspicious,
abundance and prosperity (hardly anyone
will wear dark coloured shirt or dress on the
1st day of Chinese New Year as that would
be a symbol of bad luck to welcome the first
of the new year!), property segments be it
residential, commercial or industrial are not
spared either as they are all flooded with
similar decorations in this festive season.
Nobody wants to visit a premise without
attractive lights and decors right?
Notably, the real estate industry
exhibits consistent forgiving trends and
patterns too. Whether the project is ongoing
or new, every struggle comes to an almost
complete halt before the lunar new year
begins. Fresh new perspectives are painted
with the welcoming of spring where discounts
and freebies usually make headwinds for
the unassuming buyers as everything can
be repackaged for the new year. Thanks to
company bonuses and also that every new
year means new renovations and furniture,
homeowners are excited with their dream
house, hence the emotional splurge in
anticipation for the coming of Spring.
In real estate, many motivated sellers
who want a good price for their valued
buildings will not miss the chance to beautify
their units to the advantage of shoppers who
became ardent buyers when a property is
on sale. All things equal especially pricing,
two equivalent properties will be easily
identifiable when one is decorated and make-
over, as it portrays a willing seller (owner)
who invested into ensuring their beloved
asset, is highly valued. Many secondary
houses are transacted before the Chinese
New Year be it buy or rent, so the occupants
can get ready for their ‘new’ house and ‘new’
environment for a good change in the new
year!
PROPERTY360DIGEST
25