????今年，中國超過加拿大成為美國住宅房產第一大海外買家。在美國，越來越多的房地產開發商和經紀人開始講究風水，以確保房屋擁有正能量（所謂的“氣場”），并吸引中國買家，后者往往愿意為一套風水好的房子掏更多的錢。

????當約琴夫?蘭德和妻子打算購買一套新房時，他的華裔妻子堅稱，房子的樓梯不能對著大門，因為在中國的風水學里，這種設計會使家里的所有運氣從大門溜走。蘭德本人也是Better Homes and Gardens Realty房地產公司的管理合伙人，在強調了解中國買家文化偏好，特別是風水的重要性時，他經常跟人們講起這個故事。

????據《2015國際購房活動簡介》稱，今年，中國超過加拿大，成為美國住宅房產第一大海外買家。在美國購房的全部外國人中，中國人占到了16%。2014年4月至2015年3月期間，中國買家在美國購房的房款總額估計達到了286億美元。

????隨著中國人對美國房地產市場的影響力與日俱僧，美國銷售豪宅的經紀人也開始講風水。Better Homes and Gardens房地產公司和美國亞洲房地產協會針對500名美籍華人進行了一項調查，86%的受訪者認為，他們在購房時會考慮風水好壞。另外，79%的受訪者表示，他們愿意為一套風水好的房子掏更多的錢。

????風水說發源于中國，是一門有著上千年歷史的古老哲學，人們將它用在房屋建造和城市規劃上，以打造一個天人和諧的環境，改善“氣場”的流動，使房屋的主人受益。在現代房屋中，這種流動可以通過家具和其它裝飾物的布局與擺放來實現。風水說強調環境的整潔，重視鏡子的擺放（比如不能對著床），推崇顏色的互補等。此外，風水學運用五行生克原理，使一棟房屋、一個場所或一座城市實現和諧的平衡。

????根據Better Homes and Garden房地產公司的調研，有四分之三的華裔受訪者表示，他們不會購買風水不好的房子，比如位于一條死胡同最里面的房子，或是前門與后門正對著的房子。

????把床放在“死位”上，也是風水學的最大忌諱之一——也就是說床腳正對著門。在此次調查的受訪者中，有41%的人表示，如果房子犯了這樣的風水禁忌，他們是肯定不會買的。

????受訪者們平均愿意多付16%的價錢購買風水好的房子，比如用互補色裝修的廚房，衛生間擺放有全身鏡和植物，家具擺放、平面布局和戶型設計得當。

????顯然，如果房屋風水好，那么房地產銷售商在推銷房子時就會事半功倍。諸如美國家裝頻道HGTV之類的媒體已經開始普及風水常識，各路提供咨詢服務的風水大師也如雨后春筍般在美國涌現。

????豪華住宅的開發商們也抓住了這個賣點，將風水元素納入房子的設施和布局中。

????“天景豪苑”是紐約市皇后區的一座公寓樓盤，它的樓頂花園集合了風水學中的五行因素。入口的位置為了抵抗“邪氣”而專門選了一個風水位，公園里的石頭、植物、水池和木制品的布局也很有講究，營造出層層疊疊、錯落有致的感覺。

????就連最高端的房地產商也開始講風水了。比如邁阿密海灘每套售價高達200萬到4000萬美元不等的麗思卡爾頓公寓，該項目在建造期間特別從香港請來風水大師帕特里克?王，為樓盤指導風水布局。

????王先生首先來到開發商奧斐爾?斯騰伯格家里評估風水。斯騰伯格告訴《南華早報》：“我們請他來確保（家里）有好的氣場，我們蓋的樓盤沒有犯大忌。”

????對斯騰伯格的家初步勘輿后，王先生開始了工作。他精心地選擇園林植物，確保樓房面朝正確方向，所有房子“藏風聚氣”，并符合陰陽五行理論。盡管這個有著127套房屋的小區要到2016年年底才能建成，但現在就已經售出了一半以上的單元。（財富中文網）

????譯者：樸成奎

????審校：任文科

????More developers and realtors are applying feng shui principles to ensure positive “energy” — and attract Chinese buyers.

????When Joseph Rand and his wife were shopping for a new home, his wife, who is of Chinese descent, insisted the stairs couldn’t face out the front door. That’s because the ancient Chinese design philosophy holds that all luck would flow out the front door. Rand, also a managing partner of Better Homes and Gardens Realty, told the story as a way of underscoring the importance of learning the Chinese buyers’ cultural preferences, especially feng shui.

????This year, China surpassed Canada as the foreign country spending the most on residential properties in the U.S., comprising 16% of international home buyers. Chinese buyers spent an estimated $28.6 billion on residential U.S. real estate between April 2014 and March 2015, according to the 2015 Profile of International Homebuying Activity.

????The growing Chinese presence is partly why realtors selling luxury properties, in particular, are paying more attention to feng shui. A survey of 500 Chinese Americans conducted by Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate and the Asian Real Estate Association of America found that 86% think feng shui will make a difference in their future home buying choices. Additionally, 79% of these Chinese-American home buyers said they would pay more for a house that followed follow feng shui standards.

????Feng shui is a centuries-old philosophy, originating in China, that was used in homes and urban planning to create a calm, harmonious environment and improve the flow of “qi” or positive energy, which is thought to benefit the occupants. In modern homes, this flow is achieved by the layout and placement of furniture and other decor elements. Clutter-free environments are valued, and other key considerations include placement of mirrors (not across from the bed) and complementary colors. In feng shui-styled environments, the Five Elements of wood, fire, earth, metal, and water, are used in combination to align a building, site, or city to a healthy balance.

????According to the Better Homes and Garden Real Estate survey, three-quarters of Chinese Americans said they could see feng shui deal-breakers, such as a house’s location at the end of a dead-end street. Other feng shui buyer turnoffs include homes that have the front door and rear doors aligned.

????A bed placed in the “death position” — that is, with the foot of the bed directly aimed at the door — is one of the biggest taboos. Of those surveyed, 41% indicated this would detract them from buying the home right away.

????Respondents said they would pay an average of 16% more for a home that followed feng shui principles — such as uncluttered kitchens done in complementary colors, a full-length mirror and live plants in the bathroom, proper furniture placement, floor plan, and layout flow.

????Clearly, some home sellers can benefit from adopting some of the principles when staging their house, and that information has been offered from the likes of HGTV, and a cottage industry of feng shui experts has sprung up, offering their services.

????However, luxury housing developers have also taken the cue and are including feng shui elements in their amenities and floor plans.

????The Grand at View Sky Parc, a condominium development in Queens, New York features a rooftop park, integrating the feng shui elements of water, wood, fire, earth, and metal. The entrances were situated to counter negative energies, and the stones, plants, water and wood were placed strategically as well, with geometric forms creating layers of space.

????And feng shui has even moved on up to the highest end of real estate. Developers of the waterfront Ritz-Carlton Residences in Miami Beach, which will be priced from $2 million to $40 million, flew in Hong Kong feng shui expert Patrick Wong to work with the architect on incorporating feng shui principles.

????As one of his first tasks, Wong visited developer Ophir Sternberg’s home to evaluate it. “He wanted to make sure that the energy [in the home] was correct, and that we produce the right sort of building,” Sternberg told the South China Morning Post.

????After Sternberg’s home passed that first test, Wong set to work, choosing landscape plants, assuring the building is facing the right direction, that all units have proper flow and that they incorporate the elements of wood, fire, earth, metal, and water. Although the development won’t be finished until the end of 2016, more than half of the 127 units are sold.