Design Haire Living
You would think that buying, renovating or moving homes during the seventh month of the Chinese Lunar calendar, also known as the Hungry Ghost month, is a no-no for many. But a new study reported in the Straits Times uses data (studied over 9 years) to show that this is not the case! Not only is it one of the most active months for property transactions, you can even wrangle better discounts from developers! Here are some points to note from the article.
– The fifth, sixth and seventh lunar months were the most active in terms of the number of transactions, followed by quite a sharp fall in the eighth through to the 10th month.
– There were significant price discounts for houses transacted during the seventh lunar month, in the price range of between $4,000 per sq m (psm) and $8,000 psm ($371-746 per sq ft)
– Study results show that prices for homes are 7.43 per cent lower for Chinese buyers when the purchase is made during the Hungry Ghost month relative to other months.
– Chinese house buyers who are above 50 years of age are more likely to avoid buying houses during the Hungry Ghost month. In the event that these buyers purchased a property during the Hungry Ghost month, they enjoyed an even higher discount of 8.45 per cent, compared to houses bought in other months.
– Chinese buyers enjoyed a discount of 10.89 per cent in the resale market relative to other months, if the purchase is made during the seventh lunar month. The discounts are lower – estimated at 8.09 per cent – in the developer sales market.
Read the full article here!