Hong Kong homes to go for hefty discounts as part of pilot ownership scheme
Applications for the heavily discounted properties in San Po Kong will open to public housing tenants from next month
Flats being sold as part of a subsidised scheme are set go for HK$940,000 when they are offered up to public housing tenants next month.
Stanley Wong Yuen-fai, chairman of the subsidised housing committee under the Housing Authority, said the flats would go for between HK$940,000 and HK$2.98 million.
They will be sold for HK$5,658 per square foot, a 40 per cent discount on the market price of HK$9,430 per square foot for similar flats in the area. The discount is greater than that for the Home Ownership Scheme, which offers a 30 per cent discount on flats sold to those in public housing and other low-income residents.
The pilot plan, initiated by Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying in his 2015 policy address, aimed to vacate more public housing flats and reduce waiting periods, which had exceeded four years.
Wong said the price tag was based on existing subsidised flat data, and new and second-hand sales transactions taken from May to July.
“There’s bound to be some attraction. Especially those who are looking for decent accommodation within urban areas,” Wong said. “It will be convenient for their work and convenient for their kids to attend school.”
Applicants will be chosen by ballot in December. Winners will be able to move in after construction is completed next June.
Wong said 400 flats would be reserved for the elderly and another 100 for single applicants.
But fellow committee members Anthony Chiu Kwok-wai said the prices could be even lower.
“For almost HK$3 million, you could also buy a flat in the current HOS,” he said, adding the authority may consider a 50 per cent discount given the scheme was not-for-profit.
The committee will decide on the final proposal for the scheme on Monday.
