WHILE U.S INVESTORS are reeling from subprime-lending woes, a different housing scenario is playing in ex-Japan Asia: Residential-property prices and real-estate stocks are skyrocketing. Officials in Singapore, Taiwan, South Korea and China have warned of bubble-like valuations in urban housing. And if a global economic slump forces central banks to cut rates further, surging real-estate prices are likely to go much higher before taking a breather.
That's good news for Asian housing shares. Despite a recent pullback, real-estate stocks are up on average 50% in Hong Kong this year, 60% to 70% in India and China, more than 30% in Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Indonesia, and about 20% in Singapore. Only in Japan have real-estate shares retreated.
