While it is no secret Hongkongers love real estate, the days of wild speculation really belong to another era. Nevertheless, as a vehicle against inflation, real estate remains a favourite tool. So it is interesting that veteran property analyst Peter Churchouse, the former Morgan Stanley managing director, who is now chairman of Portwood Capital, has issued a report on the merits of bricks and mortar as a hedge against inflation.

Churchouse points out that while nominal house prices have risen 714 per cent since 1979, this is a rise of just 52 per cent in real terms, or an average of a mere 1.3 per cent a year, as inflation averaged more than 13 per cent. But this means real estate still outpaced inflation over the long term.

In this issue of LuxeHomes, we are introducing a QR code (below, left) to make it easier for you to access our mobile site. If you have a smartphone with a camera, all you need to do is to download an app with a QR code scanning function. Then you can scan the QR code, and it will bring you to our mobile site, in which the search engine can direct you to your favourite sales or rental property.