Speculate a lot

While the residential and commercial property markets in Hong Kong are extensively discussed, little attention is paid to the carpark market. This work contributes to fill the research gap in three ways. First, it provides a simple empirical model to explain carpark ratios in residential buildings. Second, it hand-collects transaction-level data and constructs a price index for the carpark market in Hong Kong. Third, it shows that changes in stamp duties increase the volatility in the carpark market. This research may shed light to the current debate on the effectiveness of the stamp duty in stabilizing the real estate market.