Property volumes tank in HK but rise in other Asian cities

Investors have long sounded warnings about Hong Kong’s perennially rising property prices and finally it seems the likes of BlackRock and Nuveen are being heeded.

Real estate transaction volumes in the city plunged by around one-third in the year to June 30, with cross-border inflows falling particularly sharply, according to new research from property services firm Cushman Wakefield.

By contrast, other key Asian cities enjoyed inflows into their property markets in that period.

Perhaps even more ominously for Hong Kong, the drop largely happened before the prevailing anti-China protests started in June.

This must have investors wondering just how...