Background Information
The numbers of domestic households by type of housing as at the first quarter of 2011 are:
Public Rental Housing (PRH)
- There are 13,700 new PRH flats built in 2010/11.
- The forecast production of PRH from 2011/12 to 2015/16 is:
- The 2011/12 Estimate on total housing expenditure is $19.7 billion, accounting for 5.0% of Total Public Expenditure.
Private Housing
- In May 2011, overall flat prices were higher than the 1997 peak by 7%, with prices of large flats exceeding the peak by 26%.
- In the first quarter of 2011, the ratio of mortgage payment (for a 45-square metre flat) to median income of households rose to 49%, only slightly below the long-term average of 51% over 1990-2009.
Measures Rolled Out in Recent Years
Increasing land supply for residential development
- On average land needs to be made available annually for some 20,000 private residential flats. The aim is to build up a sufficiently large land reserve over a period of time to ensure stable land supply for the residential property market.
- Rezone about 30 hectares of land for residential use and consult the public on reclamation on an appropriate scale outside Victoria Harbour.
- Lowered the threshold for compulsory sale for redevelopment in respect of three specified classes of lots, and set up a special team in the Lands Department to handle the applications for redevelopment and wholesale conversion of industrial buildings.
Increasing small and medium-sized residential units
- Put forward sites with flat size restrictions.
- Obtained the agreement of the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) and the West Rail Property Development Limited (WRPDL) to increase the number of small and medium-sized residential units at the concerned urban redevelopment projects and West Rail property developments.
Regulation of the sales of first-hand residential properties
- Implemented nine measures to regulate the sale of first-hand uncompleted residential properties (e.g. to make public the sales brochures at least seven calendar days before commencement of flat sale; to make public the price lists at least three calendar days before commencement of sale; and to provide more comprehensive transaction information etc.)
- Implemented 12 measures to regulate the show flats of first-hand uncompleted residential properties (e.g. show flats, if provided, must include at least one show flat showing the same conditions of the actual flat to be handed over to buyers upon completion, i.e. unmodified show flat.)
- Established the Steering Committee on the Regulation of the Sale of First-hand Residential Properties by Legislation (the Steering Committee) to discuss specific issues pertaining to the regulation of the sale of first-hand properties by legislation. The Steering Committee will come up with practicable recommendations for the consideration of the Transport and Housing Bureau by October 2011.
Controlling "Inflated Buildings"
- Imposing an overall cap on gross floor area concessions for green and amenity features for new buildings, doing away with concessions for certain features, lowering the level of concessions for features such as car parks, balconies, utility platforms and clubhouses, and reducing the permissible area of bay windows, etc.
Combating property speculation
- Introduced the Special Stamp Duty (SSD) on residential properties of all values at the point of resale (except exempted transactions) if the properties are acquired on or after 20 November 2010 and resold within 24 months after acquisition. The SSD is calculated based on the holding period of the property, with a maximum tax rate of 15%.
Continual supply of subsidized housing
- Introduced "My Home Purchase Plan" (MHPP), which is premised on the concept of “rent-and-buy”. MHPP targets at households which have home purchase plans and the ability to pay mortgages in the long run but who cannot immediately afford the down payment in the face of short-term property price fluctuations, and will provide a buffer to facilitate them to save up over a period of time for home purchase.
- An average of about 15,000 PRH flats will be built per year. It is estimated that this level of production, together with the existing PRH flats anticipated to be recovered every year, would allow us to meet the target of maintaining the average waiting time for the general PRH applicants at around three years.
Other measures
- Temporary suspension of real estate as a class of Permissible Investment Asset under the Capital Investment Entrant Scheme.
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