ANALYSIS: Marketing - Lifestyle options move property buyers. Marketers change course as property loses its investment lustre. Jo Bowman reports

There was a time when homes in Hong Kong were bought and sold before they were even built. Then, all that mattered was the likelihood of a quick resale and a hefty profit for the owner. But the property market's roller-coaster ride of the past few years has given buyers and developers pause for thought; flats are again being marketed as homes, and advertising agencies are selling dreams, not pay cheques.