Published on 23.06.2011

Hong Kong Waits for the Real Estate Bubble to Burst

Chris and Karen Lane are in the market for a property in Hong Kong. They added a daughter, Bailyanna, to the family in October and are moving back to the city of Ms. Lane’s birth after nine years in Japan.

But like many potential buyers here, they are hesitant. They fear that prices are about to decline, which means they could be caught buying at a peak of the market.

“I want to buy a place to live, and I don’t want to pay someone else’s mortgage” as a renter, said Mr. Lane, who has been working as a property broker in the ski-resort town of Niseko, Japan. “But I’m worried that prices will drop within a year. Would it be better to rent for a year and buy at a 30 percent discount?”

Full article at NYtimes.com