Builder Uses Feng Shui Principles To Motivate Home Sales
BY MANDY JACKSON
Staff Writer
Del Mar-based Davidson Communities has taken an non-traditional approach to attracting traditional homebuyers.
For Talvera at 4S Ranch, a 126-home master-planned community in San Diego near Rancho Bernardo, Davidson consulted with a local feng shui master, Dr. Richard Tan.
Feng shui, which means wind and water, is the Chinese art of decorating, arranging and choosing sites for homes and offices that allows for the most beneficial flow of Chi, or vital energy.
Tan said feng shui makes a home a comfortable living space. As a health practitioner in herbal medicine and acupuncture, he noticed that patients were returning to him with conditions that were previously cured.
“Their living environment was a big influence on their health,” he said. Some things at their homes needed to be changed.
“We looked at our market at 4S Ranch and felt we would have a significant Asian market,” said Cynthia Monaco, vice president of sales and marketing for Davidson.
“We felt it was important to recognize a culture. I saw it as one other avenue of doing market research,” Monaco said.
Tan was called in to review the floor plans and make suggestions on furniture placement for Talavera. The developer had called on Tan once before to look over the plans for Cielo in Rancho Santa Fe.
At Talavera, Tan said the plans were designed well. Because of the designs, he noted the architect, Larry Case of Case Group Architects in Solana Beach, must be familiar with principles of feng shui.
Tan suggested that flowers be planted outside and placed inside the sales center and the homes to promote prosperity. He also said a fountain should be placed in the sales center, which hasn’t been done yet. “But I will if sales sag,” Monaco said.
Tan said the entrance of a business is very important.
“When people come in and feel energy, they feel very comfortable,” he said. “People feel squeezed and chaos if there’s too many plants and decorations.”
During the grand opening weekend of the 12-home Phase 1A at the beginning of the month, seven houses were sold at Talavera. Since then, another four have sold. Twelve more houses in Phase 1B became available to buyers on Dec. 15.
The 3,450- to 4,050-square-foot houses start at $569,900. The model homes are on Deer Ridge Road, west of Rancho Bernardo.
