There's a general rule of thumb for property investment which goes something like: "When hot property is in the news, the wise investor allows the newsmen to get on with it while they keep well away." This is all well and good but hot property news is a frequent event in Hong Kong and waiting for markets to cool can take a very long time indeed.
At the moment the hot property news surges around the fantastic prices being paid for parking spaces. Prices for these slots have effortlessly soared above the HK$1 million mark and punters have been salivating over reports of quick profits earned on these investments.
We learn that in the space of just 24 hours some car parking investors have managed to pocket up to HK$300,000. It sounds too good to be true but it is entirely plausible.
Car parks represent the lowest cost point of entry for property investors and banks are keen to lend about half of the purchase price at a time when repayments are quite modest. Moreover, they provide an alternative to the cooling prices in the residential market emanating from government measures to impose new taxes on speculators in this sector.
So the hype has some foundation, but wily investors always have to ask themselves - are they buying into a good story or are they buying a solid investment?
As ever, at times like these, we need to listen to the great investment guru, Warren Buffett, who questioned why some people only become interested in investments when prices are on the up. He was talking about stocks but his strictures apply equally to property. "I'm going to buy hamburgers for the rest of my life", he declared. "When hamburgers go down in price we sing the Hallelujah chorus in the Buffett household. When hamburgers go up, we weep. For most people, it's the same way with everything in life they will be buying - except stocks."