House-hunting in Hong Kong with the app that flags death

Hong Kong

SHIP Street is quintessentially Hong Kong, even serving as the backdrop to several local movies. There is a well-preserved three-story building from the 1920s, now a cigar lounge. Next door is a towering glass-and-steel apartment complex. There is a New York-style pizzeria, a pastry shop and a mom-and-pop hardware store. But when viewed through a smartphone camera, Ship Street can look downright creepy.

Building on the success of Pokémon Go, a local company has created a smartphone app that superimposes property listings on street views. Point your phone at a building and the units for rent or sale pop up, complete with prices. But on occasion, cartoon ghosts appear next to an apartment tower, representing an unnatural or unexplained death that took place there.