Hungry Ghost months may not daunt buyers

WITH a rare two-month-long Hungry Ghost Festival this year, which starts later this month, developers are trying to assess just how much the level of home buyer superstition has diminished over the years.

The extra-long festival is a quirk of the calendar not seen since 1968, but it is a long time to put normal property market activity on hold.

Traditionally, the spectre of hungry ghosts roaming the streets has been enough to deter some home buyers from making a purchase - and to convince developers to avoid scheduling a big-bang launch.

But industry sources say buyers are less superstitious nowadays, especially younger ones, and practicality could rule this year when it comes to buying or renovation plans.

Indeed, buyers might be tempted to throw caution to the wind if attractive properties emerge during this year’s extended festival - from July 25 to Sept 21.

Overall, it seems that launches for several of the bigger projects will avoid the festival, though some for different reasons, but other projects will go ahead anyway - some quietly rather than in big launches.

Property consultancy Colliers International’s associate director of research and consultancy, Ms Tay Huey Ying, said in previous years developers generally avoided launching projects during this period - ‘especially those without strong attributes’.

‘Such projects are already hard to move during normal months, so it would be even harder during the Hungry Ghost Festival, when it is considered inauspicious to make housing commitments,’ she said.

As a result, major launches have typically been held either before or after. This year, there has been a flurry of launches and previews so far, including those for St Regis Residences, Southbank, The Clift, The Oceanfront @ Sentosa Cove and Orchard Scotts.

For developers trying to avoid the double ghost months, the window of opportunity for launches is rather limited as the year-end school holiday will begin not long after that. Developers will need to pace their launches to avoid choking the market with a sudden influx, Ms Tay said.

For the rest of the year, projects lined up for launch include inner-city ones such as The Lumiere at the former HMC Building site, The Clift at the Natwest Centre site and the redeveloped No. 1 Shenton Way, as well as The Centris in Jurong West Central.

The Centris is likely to be launched after the festival, which starts during the seventh lunar month, because of regulatory approvals, but sales could start earlier if the approvals come in.

Over in the east, Sim Lian aims to push out its freehold 62-unit Bleu at East Coast in October, when it expects to get all regulatory approvals and complete the show-flat.

‘The launch date will also be affected by market sentiment rather than the seventh month,’ said Sim Lian Land executive director Diana Kuik. Buyers nowadays are not so concerned about ghosts. They are more educated and sophisticated - and factors such as location, pricing and quality of the project are more important to them, she added.

‘I wouldn’t say superstition is no longer a factor in property purchases, but it’s less so than, say, 10 years ago,’ said Ms Kuik.

Said a spokesman for CapitaLand: ‘When timing a launch, our key considerations will include broad economic factors, the competitive environment, the company’s business objectives and marketing strategies.’

City Developments has said it finds that today’s younger generation as well as foreign buyers are not concerned about buying properties in the seventh month.

Savills Residential executive director David Neubronner said the Hungry Ghost months will have ‘minimum impact’ on buyers’ decisions, particularly for projects targeting yuppies or investors, as younger Singaporeans are generally less superstitious.

‘Some developers may use the Hungry Ghost months to launch their small to mid-sized projects while the big boys stay on the sidelines, so their projects will not get overwhelmed by the major projects,’ he said.

Also, sales of high-end projects targeted at foreigners are unlikely to be affected by superstitions surrounding the seventh month, said Ms Tay.

Still, the Hungry Ghost Festival has all along affected business and decisions to some extent, said geomancer Tan Khoon Yong of WayOnNet Group, even though he has been saying that it is perfectly alright to buy a home during the seventh month.

It is tradition that is keeping some from launching and others from buying during that month, he said.

For this reason, many developers are likely to continue selling their project quietly - rather than launching them in a big way - during this time before doing an official launch in the auspicious eighth lunar month, Master Tan said.

‘The Hungry Ghost months could be the best time to pick up a bargain or ask for a discount,’ he said.

Source : Sunday Times - 16 Jul 2006