Feng shui, an ancient Chinese art aimed at creating harmonious living environments, is gaining traction among real estate agents faced with finicky buyers and unusual floorplans, according to this video from the Wall Street Journal. Susan Chan, a feng shui expert, said she’s used her expertise to help brokers organize model apartments that are pleasing to the eye. Of course, Chan is hardly the first to use age-old traditions in the modern real estate market. As The Real Deal reported in 2009, feng shui, along with cleansing rituals like “smudging” have grown in popularity among residential brokers.

As the New York City real estate market continues to struggle, brokers are turning to some unconventional methods to sell apartments. This includes rituals intended to “cleanse” the space of negative energy, according to Barbara Corcoran, founder of the Corcoran Group, one of the first to use such techniques. Homeowner Carmen Alonso, who is selling her one-bedroom apartment at 10 West 15th Street, hired Feng Shui consultant Christine Barth to perform a “clearing ceremony” in the space to help it sell. She let The Real Deal take a peek.

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