Do what it may, the Hong Kong government seems powerless to rein in the territory’s booming property market.

In January, the city was judged the world’s least affordable by US planning consultancy Demographia for the eighth successive year (the survey reviewed nine leading global housing markets including the US, China, Singapore, UK and Japan). The median property price in Hong Kong is now 19.4 times the median income. In London — which is itself working through an unaffordability crisis — it is 8.5 times.

In 10 years, prime homes in the city have increased 160 per cent, according to Savills. Average sales prices for Hong Kong homes are now HK$24,900 ($3,182) per sq foot, more than a quarter higher than those in prime central London ($2,510 — roughly ￡1,800) and nearly double the cost in regional neighbour Singapore ($1,757).