Hong Kong has very pricey real estate. For the uninitiated (or the ignorant, if you happen to be local), most, i.e. 99 per cent of the 7 million-plus population reside in some form of high-rise apartments.

During a recent discussion with business school students at Tsinghua University the question arose as to whether real estate prices would fall if populations began declining. This is certainly likely, yet it is still just one possibility, and the notion that fewer people leads to lower property prices is not always destiny.

From time to time, one may read debates in news media among investors and commentators about which of the above approaches offer better returns. Real estate agents tend to favour investing in bricks and mortar, while stocks traders would say equities offer better expense ratios, especially if all the stamp duties are taken into account.

While the human need for accommodation tends to be rigid, the need to buy a home is not. It is comparatively flexible, or "elastic" to use economics terminology.