Reform the subsidised housing market to give young people hope

To help more young people own homes, better use should be made of overlooked second-hand HOS flats

Mortgage guarantees should be extended on resale flats, limits abolished on buyer eligibility, and the ballot system refined to favour those with previous failed applications

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Ryan Ip,Jason Leung Yeuk-hoandAlvin Chiu

Published: 8:15am, 8 Apr 2023

The recent launch of Hong Kong’s first hotel-to-youth-hostel conversion project has returned attention to the hot topic of young people’s housing needs. Today, fewer young people are able to own a home due to skyrocketing housing prices and stagnating income mobility.

With their hopes of home ownership fading as upward mobility deteriorates, many feel frustrated and defeated. The sense of powerlessness has led to a “let it be” lifestyle, with many taking to “lying flat” and rejecting the rat race.

Against this backdrop, Our Hong Kong Foundation launched its latest study on home ownership and youth social mobility, aiming to raise awareness of the difficulties faced by young people. It proposes to reform the Home Ownership Scheme (HOS) market, an underused resource that could be a game-changer.

Using population census data from the past two decades, we analysed changes in the median monthly incomes of young people aged 30-34. Without adjusting for inflation, the incomes of degree and non-degree graduates have increased by 20 per cent and 36 per cent respectively from 2001-2021. In the same period, housing prices have soared 399 per cent.