Despite local taboos associated with buying houses in the seventh month of the lunar calendar, property transactions have not seen the usual lull this year. The ‘ghost month’, also known as the month of lonely spirits, which began on August 14 this year and will end on September 12, is typically associated with bad luck. As a result, few property transactions take place during this time, but attitudes appear to have changed this year. In recent days, several developers launched sales for their projects and introduced attractive promotions to attract buyers. On August 22 and 23, resort villas of Vingroup's Vinpearl Premium and BIM Group's Lotus Residences were released for sale in Hanoi, drawing the attention of hundreds of investors seeking investment opportunities amidst the recovery of the property market, especially within the high-end segment. BIM Group said its sale release last weekend saw a high rate of successful transactions. Other projects were also put on sale recently, including the Eco-Green City, Imperia Garden and Hateco. To attract buyers, developers launched many attractive promotions and commitments, such as preferential loans, lucky draws and gifts for purchasing decisions made within this month. Guaranteed profits also made resort projects attractive to buyers. According to Tran Thu Hien, Director of DTJ Group, a property distributor, property transactions have not seen a dip in the seventh lunar month in recent years, comparing it favourably with other months of the year. She noted that many developers continued to launch sales for their projects and investors still made purchase decisions during the month. Phan Thanh Diep, General Director of Phu Tai Real Estate Company, said the taboo on buying houses during the ghost month has weakened. Many developers even saw better-than-expected sale results, he said. Exclusive promotions for the ghost month also helped attract buyers. Vu Cuong Quyet, Director of Northern Dat Xanh Real Estate Company, said developers rarely offered promotions for high-quality projects; thus, purchase decisions, if made within this month, could bring many benefits to buyers.-VNA