Prices rise despite cooling measures

Official figures show Hong Kong's luxury property prices managed to rise just one month after Financial Secretary John Tsang Chun-wah announced measures to crack down on speculation last November. Data for December from the Rating and Valuation Department show prices for units of more than 1,700 sqft rose 0.5 per cent from the previous month, despite a modest drop in overall private property prices, which were affected by Tsang's measures. The latest government figures were for December. They more or less mirror data provided by property agencies, whose figures showed even the overall private housing market was on the rise in January.