The fundamentals of commercial property values have varied little through the post World War II era, if ever, and are boiled down to “supply and demand”, or even the jocular standard of the three key factors that determine a property’s worth are “location, location and location”. But beyond such basics, the fundamentals include economic growth, geography, and the nature of local and national governments.

It is important to note for most of the developed world and East Asia, the post-war era also saw population growth and urbanisation. Indeed, the population of East Asia rose from 667.5 million in 1950 to 1.39 billion by 1990 — more than doubling in less than a lifetime, according to the United Nations.

After 1990, however, East Asian population growth decelerated, with the total number of people living in East Asia reaching 1.64 billion, according to UN demographers, an 18 percent increase in population over 25 years.

To the benefit of property inves