Quick answer
In Vastu, no facing direction is bad on its own. North and east facing houses are traditionally preferred because they receive morning light and are linked with Kubera (wealth) and the Sun, but a south or west facing house can be just as good when its main entrance sits in the right part of the wall and the rooms inside follow Vastu.
In this article
The question every home buyer asks
If you’ve ever gone house-hunting in India, you’ve probably heard it within the first five minutes: “Which side is it facing?” For many families, the answer decides whether they even step inside. South facing homes in particular are sometimes priced lower simply because buyers are nervous about them.
That nervousness is mostly a myth. Traditional Vastu doesn’t reject any direction outright. What it cares about is where on the wall the main door falls and how the rooms inside are arranged. A well-planned south facing house can be better, in Vastu terms, than a badly planned north facing one.
What “facing” means
A house faces the direction you look in when you step out of the main door. Stand at the entrance with a compass looking outwards: that reading is the facing direction.
How to take a reliable compass reading
- Use a proper compass or a phone compass app, and calibrate the phone first.
- Stand a step or two away from cars, iron gates, electrical panels and large appliances, which can throw the reading off.
- Take the reading at the main door, then at two or three other spots inside the home, and use the average.
- Note the exact degrees, not just “north”. A door at 20° and a door at 50° sit in quite different Vastu zones.
Each facing direction
- North facing house: linked with Kubera and wealth. The entrance is best placed towards the north-east part of the north wall.
- East facing house: linked with the Sun, health and growth. Morning light makes it a traditional favourite; the entrance is best towards the north-east part of the east wall.
- South facing house: often avoided, but it is not inauspicious by itself. The entrance position matters most; Vastu experts usually recommend the south-east part of the south wall rather than the south-west.
- West facing house: linked with Varuna and steady gains. The entrance is usually best in the middle to north-west part of the west wall.
Why the entrance matters most
Traditional Vastu divides each wall into segments (padas) and reads the main door by the segment it falls in. That is why two houses facing the same direction can be very different in Vastu terms. Before buying, check the entrance position, the kitchen, the master bedroom and the toilets, as described in our room-by-room Vastu guide.
Flats, villas and plots
For an independent house or villa, the main door of the house is read. For a flat, it’s the main door of your own flat, not the society gate or the tower lobby. For an empty plot, consultants look at the roads around it and where the gate and door will eventually go, which is why buying a plot gives you the most freedom to get Vastu right.
A quick checklist before you buy
- Which segment of the wall is the main door in?
- Is the kitchen in the south-east or north-west?
- Is there a bedroom in the south-west for the head of the family?
- Are any toilets in the north-east or at the centre?
- Is the centre of the home open, or blocked by a pillar or staircase?
- Does the home get morning light from the east or north?
A home that passes most of these is in good shape. One or two misses are normal, and are usually handled with small changes rather than walking away from a home you otherwise love.
Frequently asked questions
Is a south facing house bad as per Vastu?
No. A south facing house can be good when the main entrance is in the right segment of the south wall and the layout follows Vastu.
Which facing house is best in Vastu?
North and east facing houses are traditionally preferred, but the entrance position and the layout matter more than the facing direction.
How do I find which direction my house faces?
Stand at the main door looking out, and read the direction on a compass. That is the facing direction.
For a flat, which door decides the facing?
The main door of your own flat. The building’s gate or lobby entrance is not usually used for an individual flat’s Vastu.
Should I reject a house only because it is south facing?
No. Check where the main door sits on the wall and how the rooms are arranged. Those matter far more than the facing direction alone.