Talking to a friend over the weekend who used to live in Hong Kong, the conversation turned to the influence in numbers when buying and selling property.

In Phuket there are a lot of buyers who respect Chinese tradition and are influenced by the traditions. My friend was telling me he bought a very nice apartment in Bangkok in the 8^th floor as it is considered one of the lucky number and means ‘Prosper’ or ‘wealth’. Unsurprisingly, he has now sold the apartment as the new owner wanted an apartment on the 8^th Floor.

I am not sure I would take this into consideration when buying a property but quite clearly other people do and especially in SE Asia.

Maybe you are wondering why you have not sold your property in Phuket, well we may of just found the answer. It is no wonder that there are now villas called ‘Villa888’.

Below are the meanings of numbers 1-10, this might be crucial to selling your house.

 Zero

The Number 0 a whole number and it is also an even number for the money ends with 0.

Two

The number 2 is most often considered a good number in Chinese culture. There is a Chinese saying: “good things come in pairs”.

Three

The number 3 sounds similar to the character for “birth” and is considered a lucky number. The number 3 is significant since there are three important stages in a man’s life (birth, marriage and death).

Five

The number 5 is associated with the five elements (Water, Fire, Earth, Wood, and Metal) in Chinese Philosphy, and in turn was historically associated with the Emporer. For example, the Tiananmen gate, being the main thoroughfare to the Forbidden City, has five arches.

Six

The number 6 also represents wealth in Cantonese and is considered good for business.

Seven

The number 7 symbolizes “togetherness”. It is a lucky number for relationships. It is also recognized as the luckiest number in the West, and is one of the rare numbers that is great in both Chinese and many Western cultures

Eight

The word for “eight”(八 Pinyin: bā) sounds similar to the word which means “prosper” or “wealth” There is also a visual resemblance between two digits, “88”, and 囍, the “shuāng xĭ” (“double joy”), a popular decorative design composed of two stylized characters 喜 (“xĭ” meaning “joy” or “happiness”).

The number 8 is viewed as such an auspicious number that even being assigned a number with several eights is considered very lucky.

Nine

Moreover, the number 9 is a homophone of the word for “long lasting” and as such is often used in weddings

Unlucky numbers

Four

Number 4 is considered an unlucky number in Chinese because it is nearly homophonous to the word “death”

Five

Five is associated with “not”. If used for the negative connotation it can become good by using it with a negative. Thus, 54 means “no death”.

Six

Six in Cantonese which has a similar pronunciation to that of “lok6” (落, meaning “to drop, fall, or decline”) may form unlucky combinations.