Singapore crushing Hong Kong in race to bring down home prices

(Oct 7): On the surface, the property markets in Singapore and Hong Kong have much in common. The two Asian financial hubs have both moved to rein in runaway home prices in recent years as they sought to make housing more affordable.

Yet, consider how home values in the cities have diverged. Singapore has been successful in damping buyer demand with curbs (prices slumped by the most in seven years last month), while restrictions have had little impact on Hong Kong’s gravity-defying market, which is rebounding after a short-lived dip.

Hong Kong’s resurgent property market poses a headache for Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying, who’s been  touting his success cooling property prices ahead of a March vote to determine the city’s leadership for the next five years. Leung has introduced a raft of measures to cool the housing market since 2012 and his record may weigh on China’s decision to keep backing him.

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