FTU floats proposal to help young families find a home
Weeks after a meeting with chief executive, Federation of Trade Unions floats proposal aimed at lower-middle income couples
The Federation of Trade Unions is floating an idea for subsidised housing aimed at lower-middle income young couples. The proposal comes just weeks after the Beijing-friendly FTU met the chief executive, when housing was on the agenda.
Under the FTU's Easy Owners scheme, families with income between HK$16,000 and HK$30,000 a month would be eligible, with incentives such as a 3 per cent down payment and 25-year mortgages. Up to 3,000 medium-sized units of 250 to 400 sq ft, priced from HK$1 million to HK$1.6 million, would be offered.
The FTU met Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying last month, during which the federation was reportedly briefed on a plan to introduce a new housing scheme for middle-income families.
Federation lawmaker Alice Mak Mei-kuen rejected suggestions that her group was helping the government test the water, saying the proposal was inspired by the popularity of the Housing Authority home ownership scheme sale in Tai O, Lantau, in June, when 85 units attracted some 12,500 applicants.
"We can see that there is big demand, even for a project which some critics had said was too remote," said Mak, also the chairwoman of the Legislative Council housing panel.
Mak said the scheme would be most helpful to young couples. "Young couples are usually too rich for public housing. If they rent a flat, they can't save enough money for a down payment for private units," said Mak.
A two-person family with monthly income over HK$14,970 does not presently qualify for public rental housing.
The latest figures by the Ratings and Valuation Department showed the price index for private domestic properties rose to a record high of 270.1 as of October 2014, compared with 245.4 a year ago. The index was set at 100 in 1999.
The FTU's scheme would involve a five-year resale ban to discourage speculation.
Professor Eddie Hui Chi-man, of Polytechnic University's department of building and real estate, has reservations.
"We already have the home ownership scheme which is also aimed at lower-middle income families," said Hui.
He said it was academic to talk about building more flats if the government failed to find more land.
In his official blog on Sunday, Secretary for Development Paul Chan Mo-po hinted that reclamation and development of country parks could be unavoidable. He cited Singapore as an example, where 191 square kilometres of new land has been created in the past 30 years by reclamation. Environmentalists strongly oppose reclamation.
Mak said the government could make use of land from developers such as property tycoon Lee Shau-kee, who is donating three plots in Tuen Mun, Yuen Long and Shek Kip Mei.
