Here's How Superstition affects Indian Realty

Rakesh Sinha, 48, sensed a great opportunity when his property broker told him he has found a seller who is in a hurry to close the deal as soon as possible as he had to leave the country. The government servant was quite excited to share with his wife, Sunita Sihna, that they would be saving as much as Rs 10 lakh on the purchase. After hearing all the details, the wife told the husband they won't buy that property. The unit in question was a graveyard-facing property.

Lalita Yadav, a retired government teacher, also advised her son not to invest in a project in Mumbai. Rumour has it that the whole area was haunted by ghosts. No amount of coaxing from the developer would now be able to assure buyers. The project failed to find any takers.

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Most of us would also think several times before we invest in a house that has 13 as its number or lying on the 13th floor. In fact, most property developers building tall structures in India give the 13th floor a miss altogether. How so? Either they name it 12A or missing the number. Buying a flat at a floor that is numbered 14 does not bother us home buyers even when we are aware logically the number does not change. This is a phenomenon seen worldwide.

Some go even further. They would not invest in a project whose name starts with a particular letter which they consider to be inauspicious.

And there are other considerations too:

• Which direction does the house face?
• What impact will the shade of the paint have on my life?
• Does having a water body outside of a home impact me adversely?
• Does the choice of metal used in the building affect my professional growth?
• Is a corner unit bad for me?
• Do the tress around the project also impact me badly?
• What if the front gate is made of wood?
• Will the south-east facing direction of the house hinder the academic growth of my child?

There are millions of such questions and millions of different answers to each of these queries. Caught in tangles of to do or not to do, home buyers often find themselves much puzzled. We might not have considered this but superstitions, even if quite small in nature, are also among the reasons that drag the growth of India's real estate. The worst part is there is no alleviating them from the social system.