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Vivian Au

Hong Kong may boost the rate of home ownership with affordable flats that might also offer an incentive for young people to soar and not “lie flat”, the housing minister has said.
In an exclusive interview with the Post, Ho added that an increase in the number of attainable properties would be in line with the city’s bid to allow people to have better lives.
Ho added that the government would not ease up on efforts to persuade private developers to increase the availability of affordable homes, despite an underperforming economy.
“There is room for adjusting the ratio of subsidised housing to rental housing when the average waiting time for public rental homes is under control,” she said.
“When we say ‘under control’, it can mean the traditional public housing supply has become stable … it doesn’t mean we need to wait for 10 years.”
Ho was speaking on Friday as Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu gauges public opinion on ways to improve living standards for his next policy address, scheduled for later this year.
The Housing Authority is the city’s major public housing builder.
Flats for rent account for 70 per cent of public sector homes built each year, with subsidised homes accounting for the rest.
The government also persuaded private builders to build some more affordable homes under a series of pilot programmes in recent years.


But the schemes only made up a small proportion of properties that went on the market and progress remains slow because of the economic slowdown.
Ho said the authorities would consider an increase in the proportion of subsidised flats on the market if the idea gained enough public support.
“We observed that residents, especially young people, wish to own their living space as it will provide them with stability compared with renting homes,” she added.
Ho said some campaign groups had appealed to the government to help more young people own their own homes as part of the policy address consultation.
She added that recent public discussion on claims that some young people had stopped career advancement to keep their income below the maximum for a public rented flat was not typical of the age group.
She insisted that young people “lying flat” – a mainland Chinese term that means doing the bare minimum – were not in the majority.
Some young people have decided on a public rental flat as their primary housing goal because of a lack of affordable options, which had hampered their social mobility.
Ho agreed that a shortage of public sector housing options and high real estate costs in the past meant that young people’s choices had been constrained.
But she said she hoped the government’s housing policies would instil confidence in the public, particularly the young, and encourage them to climb the property ladder.
“We hope to offer them a vision. We will continue to build subsidised housing and steadily supply public housing flats in the future …[the government] clearly demonstrates its determination in delivering homes,” she added.
Ho said, apart from new subsidised homes, the second-hand market was also an option, as the authority had earlier extended the mortgage default guarantee period for them from 30 years to 50 years.
She added talks were under way with the Lands Department on the premium to be paid for the first planned subsidised public housing development under a public-private partnership scheme, to be built by New World Development.
New World Build for Good, the developer’s social enterprise unit, submitted a proposal to the Town Planning Board in 2022 to build about 300 flats, with sizes ranging from 300 sq ft to 400 sq ft, on Lam Hi Road, Yuen Long.
According to New World Development, the flats are expected to be sold at cost to help young first-time buyers to buy a starter home.




Ho said the planning and housing authorities have worked together and reserved 10 per cent more land resources to build bigger homes since Chinese President Xi Jinping prioritised housing when Lee took office two years ago.
“We have the flexibility in planning, there’s room. There are voices saying the living space of Hongkongers should be improved – this is in our long-term planning and estimation, such as the artificial islands [off Lantau Island],” she added.
The administration has said it had identified enough land for about 410,000 public housing flats over the next 10 years.
Ho said the Housing Authority, despite the sluggish market, was still the biggest public housing builder and was committed to the creation of about 7,000 affordable homes for sale a year.
She added the government had not given up on the recruitment of private sector developers to build subsidised homes, despite a lack of success with one such project last week.

The sole bid received for the first site in Chai Wan was rejected because it failed to meet the government’s reserve price, which has stalled the creation of 700 subsidised homes.
The pilot programme involves three sites, with the first put out to tender in the 2023-24 financial year.
The first two developments were expected to result in 2,300 homes, with the first to be sold at just 65 per cent of the going market rate.
Ho said the authority was considering a relaxation of some tendering conditions to counter the less appealing high interest rate environment.
“We might consider loosening some of the clauses, including the term of requiring developers to sell all units in one go,” she added.


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Affordable homes will give Hong Kong youth the chance to soar, not lie flat, housing chief says

Housing minister Winnie Ho says an increase in the number of affordable homes will provide young people with more stability compared with renting. Photo: Jelly Tse

New World Build for Good submitted a proposal to the Town Planning Board in 2022 to build about 300 flats. Photo: Handout

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General view of Tsim Sha Tsui, Yau Ma Tei and Mong Kok in Kowloon Peninsula on 5 July 2024. Photo: Dickson Lee

Give Hong Kong private developers more incentives to join subsidised housing scheme: analysts

Analysts have also urged authorities to bolster confidence in the property market. Photo: Yik Yeung-man

The site on Cheung Man Road in Chai Wan to be developed under the Private Subsidised Sale Flat Pilot Scheme. Photo: Handout

Housing chief Winnie Ho has maintains the city’s subsidised housing supply will not be affected. Photo: Dickson Lee

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The private sector should play a bigger role in the housing supply, experts have said. Photo: Sam Tsang

Experts say more private housing estate is needed for the influx of new talent, as well as for city residents. Photo: Dickson Lee

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Hong Kong

Society

Housing secretary says boost in home ownership through increased number of affordable flats will be a significant incentive for the young


Housing secretary says boost in home ownership through increased number of affordable flats will be a significant incentive for the young.


Exclusive | Affordable homes will give Hong Kong youth the chance to soar, not lie flat, housing chief says

Housing secretary says boost in home ownership through increased number of affordable flats will be a significant incentive for the young