“Most of our furniture we sell has special features such as anti-dustmite coating and are carefully designed to care for your spine – this creates a healthy lifestyle for the family.”

“First, it is important to know your favourite building style and how much you are willing to spend to make it all happen. It’s a place you are going to live, probably for a long time, so you should choose the designs that make you feel relaxed and comfortable, before consulting with a professional,”

“We used aluminium composite boards for the exterior cladding to represent the outer shell of the cars. By using these materials, we can create a very smooth surface – like the body of an automobile,”

After the division into sectors, now it is time to enhance them. For example, hanging family photos in the health room can help keep family members in good health. Likewise, putting two candlesticks in the marriage corner of the house can keep the love alive.

“Colours have an effect on people’s nervous system so when we decorate the home or office we have to choose a colour based on the usage of the space and what kind of effect we want to create,”

“We offer fire insurance for contents as well – mainly home appliances such as a television, fridge and computer. But it’s really only the foreign-owned companies and the embassies who buy a policy for their valuable objects.”

“My customers prefer real, natural-looking stones to moulded stones for their landscape gardens. They want to make their landscaped garden using naturally beautiful products and real stones from Myanmar are cheaper than moulded stones, which are foreign-made,”

“Condos suffered less destruction in the storm. The market for both rental and sales rose by 20 percent after Nargis because these buildings sustained less cyclone damage. Another reason for customer preference is the earthquake resistance provided by strong foundation structures and resistance to high winds,”

“The standard of living among some people is getting higher and higher by the day. People want to use good quality materials and show their wealth, maybe as a status symbol.”

Apartment owners also said their purchase provided financial security, to a degree insuring their savings against economic shocks – except a downturn in the property market. Of course, it also means your money is tied up in one investment, which can bring its own risks.

“If money is tight, people will be looking at properties in townships such as Bahan, Sanchaung, Dagon and Mingalar Taung Nyunt. So those areas have a lot of potential to develop as real commercial areas,”

“Property prices are still increasing, especially in the detached houses. Prices are now up by 10pc to 25pc since the changes to the tax laws but of course this depends on the location as well as access to transportation. The downtown commercial areas and nearby areas are popular, as are the roadside properties of Pyay and Kaba Aye Pagoda Roads. People are very interested in investing there, there’s is a lot of demand from retailers because of the excellent location,”

At Manarhari Myothit, the whole of the east-west Manaarhari road as well as the wards north-south roads are being repaired, with works already completed up to 55th Street. The expectation is that the remaining roads will also soon be repaired and retarred, so prices in the area began to rise.

“To save energy and lower electricity costs, homeowners should reduce their use of bright lights outdoors in the garden. Some people want to show off how beautiful his garden is, maybe with a fountain and grotto so they use dazzling exterior lights. To light the exterior of the house in low light and in the evening it is better to place small downlights in the ground at the corners of house,”

“Parquet is the best material for flooring except in the bathroom and toilet. But its market share is only 30pc, as it is nearly five times as expensive as Chinese laminate. But parquet can be polished when its colour fades, but you have to replace faded laminate with new flooring,”