Home prices are on the rise across Asia (easy money floods Asia: housing bubble reflated)

WP ^ | 11/06/09 | Kevin Brown

[TigerLikesRooster]

Home prices are on the rise across Asia

Fears about the battered real estate market give way to bubble concerns

By Kevin Brown

Friday, November 6, 2009

SINGAPORE -- Residential property prices are rising across much of Asia, prompting fears of a real estate bubble. Apartments are selling for staggering prices, and central banks and finance ministries have begun to rein in property-related stimulus measures.

It seems like only yesterday that prices were falling. Now fears are rising once again that property investors could be in for a hard landing, destroying personal wealth and delaying the economic recovery.

In Hong Kong, for example, prices for apartments costing more than $1.3 million fell 6.2 percent in the third quarter of last year, according to Savills Research, which feared that luxury prices might fall 40 to 45 percent more by the end of this year.

As it turns out, luxury apartment prices in Hong Kong are now 30 percent above their low point in the fourth quarter of 2008, with prices up 14 percent between the second and third quarters this year in sought-after neighborhoods. Similarly in Singapore, prices for private homes rose 15.8 percent in the third quarter from the second, the first such rise in more than a year. In China, prices are up 37 percent from last year.

[TigerLikesRooster]

For political reasons, the easy money policy would continue as long as possible. This will end badly, too.

The world is awash in reflated bubbles, in addition to commodity bubbles.

[TigerLikesRooster]

Ping!

[Tamar1973]

Even back in the mid 90’s, Hong Kong’s real estate market was crazy. They used to make fun of it in the Lily Wong cartoons all the time.

[TigerLikesRooster]

Big cities has been kind of black holes sucking in all money and people follow money into big cities.

When these housing bubbles collapse, millions of urban residents will suddenly find themselves out of job and feel destitute.

Cities will lost their lure and become ugly places to live overnight. People will move out of cities. It will happen to Seoul, too. These days, ‘even dogs and cows go to Seoul,’ as the local saying goes.

[Tamar1973]

Cities will lost their lure and become ugly places to live overnight. People will move out of cities. It will happen to Seoul, too. These days, ‘even dogs and cows go to Seoul,’ as the local saying goes.

Well, I don't about cows, but I know that little baby chicks are sold in Seoul.

http://sendmetokorea.blogspot.com/2009/11/selling-in-front-of-school.html