When the Hong Kong property market collapsed at the end of 1997, prices fell for nearly six years before bottoming out at one-third of the pre-crash level.

The Asia financial crisis and the Sars epidemic were devastating blows to the territory in 1998 and 2002 respectively, but public policy controlling the supply of land and the provision of public housing was widely blamed for exacerbating and prolonging the property market decline. It fanned widespread anger towards the first postcolonial administration and contributed to the eventual ousting of Tung Chee-hwa, then chief executive.

Today, Hong Kong is the world’s most expensive place to buy a home, according to global property agency Savills, following years of abundant liquidity in mainland China, ultra-low local interest rates and a supply shortage. Local indices show the average price in the secondary market is about HK$6,000 ($769) per square foot – about the same as in 1997, before the market crashed.