Hong Kong, Singapore Luxury Home Prices Fall on Curbs, JLL Says

Hong Kong and Singapore are the two

major Asian cities that recorded declines in luxury home prices

in the first quarter on government measures to prevent housing

bubbles, according to Jones Lang LaSalle Inc. (JLL)

Prices in Hong Kong, the world’s most-expensive place to

buy an apartment, fell 1.1 percent in the first quarter from the

previous three months, while they declined 0.6 percent in

Singapore, the Chicago-based realtor said in an e-mailed

statement.

Asian governments from Singapore to China are imposing

measures such as purchase restrictions and additional

transaction taxes in an effort to counter monetary easings by

central banks in the U.S. and Europe that have kept borrowing

costs low and the increased buying power of an expanding middle

class in the region.

“Policy restrictions in some markets will continue to

limit price growth for the rest of the year,” Jane Murray, head

of Asia-Pacific research at Jones Lang LaSalle, said in the

statement.

Luxury home prices in Jakarta rose 8.7 percent during the

quarter, the most among the nine cities surveyed by Jones Lang

LaSalle. Kuala Lumpur was second with a gain of 6 percent, while

Beijing and Shanghai advanced 2.4 percent and 1.8 percent

respectively, the survey showed.

Prices in Hong Kong will fall as much as 10 percent over

the rest of 2013, while Singapore will drop about 5 percent, the

broker said. Jakarta will continue to lead growth in the region,

it added.

To contact the reporter on this story:

Kelvin Wong in Hong Kong at

kwong40@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story:

Andreea Papuc at

apapuc1@bloomberg.net

Hong Kong, Singapore Luxury Home Prices Fall on Curbs, JLL Says