Invest
Aussie property’s feng shui future says a lot about us: Bernard Salt
Australian homes have been influenced by English, Greek and Italian lifestyles over previous decades but feng shui could be the next element to boost a property’s value.
Aussie property’s feng shui future says a lot about us: Bernard Salt
Australian homes have been influenced by English, Greek and Italian lifestyles over previous decades but feng shui could be the next element to boost a property’s value.
That’s according to demographer and social commentator Bernard Salt. Speaking at FIIG’s high yield investment conference in Sydney recently, he said Australian homes will continue to evolve and could become more Indian, Arabic and Asian.
Mr Salt argued that in 2028, having a home where the front and back door line up would be a good way to drive prices down. Why? “It’s bad feng shui.”
“The energy goes straight through the house. Anglo eyes can't see it, but if I wanted to maximise the number of people competing for my property in 2028, I would start to contort and configure my property to reflect those principles because we are an absorbent culture,” he said.
Mr Salt said this is the latest iteration of Australians’ fascination with the outside world.
Unlike Americans, who as a culture are “unimpressed with anything outside of America”, Australians measure social sophistication by the integration of foreign designs, ideas and lifestyles into their own.
He explained that this has been the case since the arrival of Italian and Greek immigrants decades ago.
“The Greeks, Italians arrived here in the 1950s and went, ‘What the hell are you Australians doing living in an English house? You’re living in a Mediterranean climate, you should be living in an indoor–outdoor [set up],’” Mr Salt said.
Continuing, he said that while it took Australians 30 years to cotton-on to the Mediterranean style of al fresco living, the fact that we have is testament to Australia’s nature as the “most plastic, pliable, absorbent, changeable consumer market on earth”.
“We see social sophistication around these attributes. We take our guests down the hallway and we live around an island bench,” Mr Salt said.
“It means the island bench must move upmarket, it's now marble. Rising out the centre of it is a silver Grohe tap. Tap-wear is now the new silver wear.
“It matters to the colonial Australians; they use Italian marble, German tap wear, Danish closing mechanisms in the soft closing drawers. We're a colonial, aspirational people much impressed by what's out there.”
These days, the al fresco dining area (which used to be a veranda or a deck) will now feature a BBQ with a wok burner.
“You can see the direction this is moving in. The question I have, is this peak house? Is this what the Australian house will look like in 2028? Or will it continually evolve? I say it will continually evolve,” Mr Salt said.
The demographer said Australians' adaptability could be the country's greatest boon in the face of rising globalisation and places it in good stead to be one of the most prosperous nations for the next century.
RELATED ARTICLES
Property
Australia’s mortgage knife‑fight: investors, first‑home buyers and the new rules of lender competition
The mortgage market is staying hot even as rate relief remains elusive, with investors and first‑home buyers chasing scarce stock and lenders fighting for share on price, speed and digital experienceRead more
Property
Breaking Australia’s three‑property ceiling: the finance‑first playbook for scalable portfolios
Most Australian investors don’t stall at three properties because they run out of ambition — they run out of borrowing capacity. The ceiling is a finance constraint disguised as an asset problem. The ...Read more
Property
Gen Z's secret weapon: Why their homebuying spree could flip Australia's housing market
A surprising share of younger Australians are preparing to buy despite affordability headwinds. One in three Gen Z Australians intend to purchase within a few years and 32 per cent say escaping rent ...Read more
Property
Tasmania’s pet-positive pivot: What landlords, BTR operators and insurers need to do now
Tasmania will soon require landlords to allow pets unless they can prove a valid reason to refuse. This is more than a tenancy tweak; it is a structural signal that the balance of power in rental ...Read more
Property
NSW underquoting crackdown: the compliance reset creating both cost and competitive edge
NSW is moving to sharply increase penalties for misleading price guides, including fines linked to agent commissions and maximum penalties up to $110,000. Behind the headlines sits a more ...Read more
Property
ANZ’s mortgage growth, profit slump: why volume without margin won’t pay the dividends
ANZ lifted home-lending volumes, yet profits fell under the weight of regulatory and restructuring costs—an object lesson in the futility of growth that doesn’t convert to margin and productivityRead more
Property
Rate pause, busy summer: where smart capital wins in Australia’s property market
With the Reserve Bank holding rates steady, the summer selling season arrives with rare predictability. Liquidity will lift, serviceability stops getting worse, and sentiment stabilises. The ...Read more
Property
The 2026 Suburb Thesis: A case study in turning trend lists into investable strategy
A new crop of ‘suburbs to watch’ is hitting headlines, but translating shortlist hype into bottom-line results requires more than a map and a mood. This case study shows how a disciplined, data-led ...Read more
Property
Australia’s mortgage knife‑fight: investors, first‑home buyers and the new rules of lender competition
The mortgage market is staying hot even as rate relief remains elusive, with investors and first‑home buyers chasing scarce stock and lenders fighting for share on price, speed and digital experienceRead more
Property
Breaking Australia’s three‑property ceiling: the finance‑first playbook for scalable portfolios
Most Australian investors don’t stall at three properties because they run out of ambition — they run out of borrowing capacity. The ceiling is a finance constraint disguised as an asset problem. The ...Read more
Property
Gen Z's secret weapon: Why their homebuying spree could flip Australia's housing market
A surprising share of younger Australians are preparing to buy despite affordability headwinds. One in three Gen Z Australians intend to purchase within a few years and 32 per cent say escaping rent ...Read more
Property
Tasmania’s pet-positive pivot: What landlords, BTR operators and insurers need to do now
Tasmania will soon require landlords to allow pets unless they can prove a valid reason to refuse. This is more than a tenancy tweak; it is a structural signal that the balance of power in rental ...Read more
Property
NSW underquoting crackdown: the compliance reset creating both cost and competitive edge
NSW is moving to sharply increase penalties for misleading price guides, including fines linked to agent commissions and maximum penalties up to $110,000. Behind the headlines sits a more ...Read more
Property
ANZ’s mortgage growth, profit slump: why volume without margin won’t pay the dividends
ANZ lifted home-lending volumes, yet profits fell under the weight of regulatory and restructuring costs—an object lesson in the futility of growth that doesn’t convert to margin and productivityRead more
Property
Rate pause, busy summer: where smart capital wins in Australia’s property market
With the Reserve Bank holding rates steady, the summer selling season arrives with rare predictability. Liquidity will lift, serviceability stops getting worse, and sentiment stabilises. The ...Read more
Property
The 2026 Suburb Thesis: A case study in turning trend lists into investable strategy
A new crop of ‘suburbs to watch’ is hitting headlines, but translating shortlist hype into bottom-line results requires more than a map and a mood. This case study shows how a disciplined, data-led ...Read more
