Cairns, 30th January, 2014 – A decision to incorporate feng shui into the design of a prestigious masterplanned community in Caravonica is paying dividends as Chinese and other international investors look to property in North Queensland.
Red Peak Forest Estate developer Vince Oberdan said enquiry from investors both based in Australia and overseas had been on the increase, and helping to seal the deal was the Estate’s “good” feng shui.
Traditional feng shui is the art or practice of positioning objects or orientating buildings or structures, so that maximum harmony is achieved.
It has been used for centuries to design buildings and develop new cities. Today, feng shui can be seen in real estate developments such as Red Peak Forest Estate, as well in industrial areas, and commercial properties including office buildings and retail shopping centres.
While the true number and impact of Chinese buyers is yet to be determined, the latest NAB residential property index (Q3, 2013) shows that foreign buyers now account for around 12.5% of all new residential properties bought in Australia, and around 20% of those in Queensland.
Figures, Mr Oberdan believed were incredibly promising. “It is really positive to see this level of interest coming from potential Chinese and other foreign investors based in South East Asia. While most of the enquiry is for properties in capital cities, there has been some overflow into regional areas such as Cairns.”
Mr Oberdan said they never regretted their decision to embrace feng shui in their developement. “After we investigated feng shui and the potential positive implications for the development and those who lived here, it was a simple decision.
“The principals of feng shui really do come down to good design practice, which made sense in a residential development like ours where there is rainforest, water and mountain views coupled with areas that had been disturbed such as the quarry and empty paddocks used for farming and grazing.”
Tasked with doing this was Juergen Schmidt of Energy Ecology, one of Australia’s foremost experts in this field.
“When I first visited Red Peak Forest Estate, the normal natural energy flow in an area that hasn’t been disturbed wasn’t there anymore and I had to look where the energy was stable and where it was not,” he said.
“In this particular case we had to smooth the quarry out, look at the positioning of roads, introduce elements into the location such as trees as well as have moving water. We also placed around 50 significant rocks around the area.”
Mr Schmidt said Red Peak’s background fields (energy) were now equivalent to what you would find in an un-spoilt rainforest.
“I was fortunate enough to visit a pristine rainforest in South America in 2013, which has given me the opportunity to compare this site to areas that I have worked on here in Australia.
“Red Peak Forest Estate, which is recognised as a dragon site indicative of the very best feng shui practices, has the same level energy levels as this rainforest. This is of great benefit to the people who live there.”