New Hong Kong rules call for table of sold units to be displayed in sales offices
New regulations call for a 'consumption table' in all sales offices of sold units
The government is introducing new measures to improve the transparency of first-hand residential properties for sale in Hong Kong.
The plan will give prospective buyers of flats in new residential projects a better idea of how many units are available for selection when they are buying.
The lack of reliable information on unsold units in new projects has been one of the factors widely blamed for prompting many potential homebuyers to make a hasty decision to take the plunge.
The Sales of First-hand Residential Properties Authority (SRPA), a watchdog set up to monitor the sales of new flats, yesterday issued a regulation for vendors and developers to display a "consumption table" of sold flats in their sales offices, from June 1.
This table should follow a template proposed by the SRPA and show which residential properties are offered for sale on that date, and it should also be updated during the day. SRPA's director, Eugene Fung Kin-yip, said the table could be updated more frequently depending on buyer volume.
When asked about the effectiveness of the guidelines, which do not come with punishment, he said: "Practice notes are flexible and always accepted by the industry."