OverThereIn scenes not altogether too dissimilar from what some house-hunters have had to put up with in Ireland, Shanghai police had to be called out recently to keep the peace as apartment buyers jockeyed for space in a queue to buy downtown apartments.

With more than 5,000 people in the queue anxious to put deposits down and only 178 apartments available, it's little surprise than some people got a little desperate. Numerous police officers had to stop the surging crowds in an attempt to make people wait in line just outside the site where the apartments are under construction.

The apartments in question were selling for around $2,683 per sq m (€2,044 per sq m).

The price of property in Shanghai has soared in recent years with expensive houses, in particular, selling fast. However, only 30 per cent of property is sold to local residents.