C.Y. Leung faces a long wait before his property measures take effect
As the government works on a long-term housing strategy, observers warn that the market is likely to get even more heated
Property prices will remain high and may even continue to rise until the new administration's housing measures begin to kick in, industry watchers say.
Prices have soared throughout Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying's first 100 days in office, breaking records despite a dozen measures to tackle the problem, and the setting up of a steering committee to devise a long-term housing strategy.
To existing homeowners, his policy is about right. To the twenty-somethings that cannot afford to buy or rent their own home, it's a failure
The committee meets for the first time this Friday. Last Friday, the Centa-City Index, which tracks changes in home prices in the secondary market, hit a record 110.14.
Prices of second-hand Home Ownership Scheme flats also rocketed after Leung announced in July a policy to allow 5,000 families to buy them at a discount next year.
In an interview with the Post last week, Leung said the overheated market was partly a result of the euro debt problem and also a result of "many years of un-production". "I'd be dishonest if I told Hong Kong the government had a quick fix," Leung said. "If we didn't do what we did in the last three months, the situation would be far worse."
Lawrence Poon Wing-cheung, a spokesman for the Institute of Surveyors' housing taskforce, said Leung's focus on raising land and housing supply was well placed, although some may have expected him to take more drastic measures.