Property in Hong Kong is among the most expensive in the world. In April, a home in the territory cost on average $2,091 per square foot, almost four times the price of property in New York, according to CBRE, the real estate services firm.

But for the past six months, Hong Kong has been in the grip of the worst political crisis in decades. Civil unrest has cost lives and pushed the economy into recession; it has shut down parts of the metro system and led to battles on the streets, as pro-democracy protesters clash with police. In recent months, demonstrators have borrowed a slogan from The Hunger Games to taunt the mainland authorities: “If we burn, you burn with us.”

Hong Kong’s homeowners are left in a state of uncertainty. Many had taken out large mortgages to buy one of the territory’s exceptionally small apartments. Now, prices in the territory — which has an estimated total housing wealth of $1.6tn — are beginning to fall.