Land supply for private homes to exceed target by 10pc
Development chief says a total of 20,700 new flats will be available in the private sector next year, which exceeds the target by 10 per cent
Land supply for new homes in the private sector will not only beat estimates for the first time since Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying took office in 2012, but is also set to exceed the target by 10 per cent, according to the city's development minister.
Market watchers attributed the faster land sale to the government's release of large sites at lower land premiums and its pressure on MTR Corp to speed up land sales.
With the four residential sites to be released between January and March, 20,700 new flats will be available in the private sector for the fiscal year to March 2015, the highest level since 2010, Secretary for Development Paul Chan Mo-po said yesterday. That would be about 10 per cent higher than the historical annual average of 18,800.
The government aims to raise the new housing target to 480,000 from 470,000 over the next 10 years.
The increase in land supply comes at a time when Hong Kong home prices are climbing to fresh highs. Analysts believe prices would continue to increase as the new supply will not hit the market until late next year.
Alvin Lam Tsz-pun, a director at Midland Surveyors, said the government had been able to meet its target because the city's rail operator managed to sell three large sites after the Lands Department slashed the land premium.
Last month, MTR Corp sold a site in the fifth phase of Lohas Park to Wheelock Properties at the lowest price in 10 years in that area, at a land premium of HK$2.06 billion, or HK$1,874 per square foot.