How much more would you pay for an “auspicious” address?

When it comes to buying a home, there are plenty of superstitions that guide our actions. We look for an apartment which has good fengshui. We perform certain rituals (such as carrying fruits into our new home) when we first move in. We also prefer auspicious addresses which end with 8, as opposed to unlucky addresses which end in 4. (Cover image credits)

Curious to learn more about who are the people buying auspicious addresses in Singapore? In Dr Sing Tien Foo’s recently published Kiasunomics: Stories of Singaporean Economic Behaviours, he examines the effects of superstitions on purchases in the housing market. Together with his co-authors, Dr Sing looked at over 54,000 transactions of high-rise apartments spanning from 1995 to 2012, and here’s what they found:

Auspicious addresses are 2% – 3% more expensive than regular addresses.

On the flip side, unlucky addresses tend to be 1.4% cheaper than regular addresses.

Singaporean Chinese buyers are more likely to pay for auspicious addresses.

Here’s where things get interesting: demand for auspicious addresses among Chinese buyers is specifically concentrated in non-prime districts.

One possible explanation? These buyers purchase an auspicious address in order to signal their wealth and status. If you’re living at Bukit Timah, you’re obviously rich, so there’s no need to secure an auspicious address. If you’re living in, say, Yishun, that’s a different story!

Buyers who are down on their luck are more likely to pay for auspicious addresses.

Those who committed traffic offences, or were victims of traffic accidents prior to buying an apartment exhibited a stronger preference for auspicious addresses. Maybe they’re hoping that an auspicious address will ward off the bad luck?

How much more would you pay for an auspicious address?

We hit the streets to survey people on how much they would pay for auspicious addresses, and here’s what they said:

Alyssa, 25, finance professional: “Not a single cent. I just applied for a BTO flat with my boyfriend, and it’s expensive enough as it is. It just doesn’t make sense to me to fork out extra just to have my address end with an 8!”

Jamie, 32, HR: “I wouldn’t pay more. I’d rather spend the extra money on renovating my flat. At least you get something tangible out of it!”

Guo Qiang, 31, insurance agent: “I’m a pretty kiasu person, so I wouldn’t mind paying a bit more for an auspicious address. I think I’d be okay with anything up to $5,000 extra, but I wouldn’t pay more than that.”

Cherise, 36, teacher: “No way. I don’t believe that an address can influence my luck in any way. Actually, if given a choice, I’d rather pick the unlucky address so that I can save money!”

Jason, 42, business owner: “I’d pay 5 digits for an auspicious address. I’m quite picky when it comes to buying property – everything has to be good, including the level of the unit, the direction it’s facing, the shape of the unit, and of course, the address. Some of my friends say my standards are too high, but at the end of the day, if I’m going to be living at this place, I want to feel good about it.”

Liting, 40, marketing manager: “I didn’t even know that auspicious addresses were a thing! It never crossed my mind that an address ending with the number 4 would be unlucky – so nope, I wouldn’t pay more for an auspicious address.”

Lucky addresses in Singapore

Thinking of purchasing property with an auspicious address? You don’t need to restrict yourself to apartments that end with “8” – here are some other properties in Singapore which have auspicious names!

• Lucky Court
• Lucky Plaza
• Lucky Hill
• Goodluck Garden

P.S.: Perhaps Goodluck Garden’s auspicious name might help the property succeed in its collective sale bid!

If you found this article helpful, 99.co recommends Should Ask Questions for home buyers in Singapore and 5 unique house blessing traditions from around the world.

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