Asian real estate shares plummet, steep fall for Buffett's BYD Co.

In Hong Kong Wednesday, the Hang Seng index lost 0.3%, ending the day at 22,840. In China, the Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.6% to close at 3,303, while in Japan, the Nikkei Index fell 0.6% to 9,677.

In Hong Kong, property companies led the decline, as fears that a property bubble pumped up by excessive speculation on the part of mainland Chinese buyers, may be looming. According to the Economist, prices are now just 13% below the astronomical levels they reached in 2008, just before the financial crisis.