House not selling? Maybe it's bad Feng Shui.

If your house isn’t selling, maybe it’s suffering from bad Feng Shui. At least that’s the theory of Feng Shui practitioners. Feng Shui is the ancient Chinese “science” dealing with the environment that we all live in and how the various elements in that environment affect things and us. While I am somewhat skeptical about labeling it a science, I do believe that thousands of years of observing human reactions to our surroundings have resulted in Feng Shui practitioners being able to give good advice about what makes the environment “more harmonious” for people and thus makes your house “feel” better to potential buyers.

When all elements are in balance, they create harmony, peace, and balance to attract a buyer, according to Feng Shui expert Suzee Miller. Such positive energy is better known as chi. When elements are harmonious, chi flows gently and peacefully. When they are out of balance, chi flows out the door or stops dead in its tracks. The flow of chi is essential to the personal comfort and well being of occupants and buyers, whose bodies pick up balance and imbalance, suggests Miller.The idea behind Feng Shui is to create an environment that is harmonious to the occupant (and buyer), and to support health and good fortune of occupants due to placement of objects, use of color, landscaping, and the use of the five elements—fire, earth, metal, water, and wood.

The philosophy can be carried forward from clearing a space to build on a property, to exterior and interior design, to furniture placement, decor and more. For example, a green front door and brown doormat are earth. To help a listing sell with a green door, create balance with a red wreath (fire) and a black doormat. Also put a fountain by the door (water).Some homes seem to sell without any help at all, while others languish on the market. Among similar homes, why the difference in buyer interest?“The energy is moving too fast,” explains Miller. “Wind we can’t see but we can’t discount its presence. Water is visible, so with a balance of the invisible and visible, when you open a door, the invisible chi moves too fast and comes through the doors. All you have to do is place a sofa or ficus tree to slow down the chi. When we slow it down, it becomes gentle and soft and flowing, and the buyers will stay longer, and they fall in love with the property

Another suggestion—try to have the five elements visible in every room. ” Also, do something about long straight walkways or hallways, which Miller calls “poison arrows,” for their ability to escort chi out the door. “Chi likes to meander like a stream,” Miller says. “When it moves too fast, buyers are in and out fast, too, and they don’t stay and write offers. So slow the chi down with a table or a potted plant. On a walkway, stagger some potted plants.“The simplest way to look at it, is that if any element is out of balance or missing, we feel off balance, too,” Miller says. In fact, Miller believes that Feng Shui principles can overcome just about any environmental negative, except one. “No house will sell if it is overpriced,” she says.

There are many Feng Shui books and even expert practitioners that you can hire, right here in Michigan, if you think your house may have bad Feng Shui that is preventing it from selling. Of course, don’t forget my 3-C’s of real estate too – Clutter, Cleanliness and Condition. Even if you have Feng Shui going for you, buyers will still be turned off by a cluttered, dirty house that has lots of maintenance issues. Maybe I should make that the 4-C’s – Clutter Cleanliness, Condition and Chi. Of course let’s also not forget the advice about an overpriced house, which reminds me to also mention the importance of the 3-P’s of real estate – Price, Patience and Perseverance. In today’s market you need those three more than ever.