Opinion | Easing of double stamp duty another example of Leung's failed housing policy
Albert Cheng says the only certainty in the chief executive's flip-flopping housing measures is that they have all been ill-thought-out or ineffective
Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury Professor Chan Ka-keung told legislators on Tuesday that part of the measures to cool the property market would be relaxed, to make it easier for residents to upgrade their flats.
Thus, residents moving up the property ladder will no longer have to pay a double stamp duty of as much as 8.5 per cent, if their old unit is sold within six months of signing a formal agreement to buy the new one, rather than a provisional agreement.
This means the grace period will be lengthened by one to two months. It could be extended to as long as three years if second-home buyers purchase flats which are under construction. Developers are allowed to sell projects as early as 30 months before completion.
Those who want to get a better home should welcome the change, which is still being debated by the bills committee.
Yet the latest relaxation has been interpreted more as a move to help developers sell their new flats. The market for new homes has become rather sluggish since the doubling of stamp duty. The latest change offers developers a chance to clear their reserves of newly completed flats.
The announcement came on the heels of Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying's assurance to the Legislative Council that he had no intention of appeasing developers by making the buying and selling restrictions less "spicy".