, Columnists
Hong Kong Property's Sweet Edge
Both cities have curbs aimed at tamping down prices, but only one has banks dripping with liquidity.
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Ants don't attack two equidistant, similarly tempting sugar lumps with the same fervor. One cube gets devoured before interest in the other perks up. An economist who has studied ants for years wonders if such herding behavior could also explain the way investors treat comparable assets.
Asia's property market offers a fertile ground for entomological research. Property ants are piling into Hong Kong, and ignoring Singapore. After moving up in tandem for years, home prices in the two Asian cities began diverging earlier this year. Despite broadly similar curbs aimed at tamping down skyrocketing prices, Singapore continues to fall as Hong Kong surges.