But this phenomenon did not indicate that people with low incomes would one day no longer be able to afford homes, Chang said.
"There is still a limit to the expansion of high-end properties," Chang said. "The market will eventually return to the fundamental rule of demand and supply."
Unlike lower-priced suites that are purchased as properties to rent out, large and expensive apartments are not such good investments in the longer term because reliable demand is needed to sustain sales, Chang said.
A period of marked interest in building upper-level product without considering demand may lead to a market crash similar to that of 1989, Chang warned.
The local real estate market was growing at full throttle in 1987, fueled by a prosperous economy and a dynamic stock market. The hype drove housing prices to a new high, but that bubble eventually burst in 1989.
With this precedent in mind, developers, homebuyers and investors should be cautious about any symptoms of an overheated market and avoid accelerating the formation of any bubble, Chang said.
"He who climbs high falls heavily," he said.
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