Analysts and experts say Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa can do little to ease the financial burden on people with negative equity.
Setting up a loan fund with public money to help property owners was unlikely given the huge cost involved, said Dr Lau Kwok-yu, associate professor of City University's public and social administration department and a Housing Authority member.
Financial Secretary Antony Leung Kam-chung had been sending out signals to homeowners not to look to the Government for help, but should instead try asking banks to reduce interest rates for their mortgages, Dr Lau said.
Mr Leung has warned that a loan fund would eat into the SAR's reserves, expose it to too much financial risk and weaken its creditworthiness in the world market.
The Democratic Party, which came up with the idea, has estimated $3 billion would be needed with loans limited to those owning one residential property and who have not taken out any housing loan from the Government. But Mr Leung estimates the cost would be closer to $300 billion.
HSBC chief economist George Leung Siu-kay told the South China Morning Post Mr Tung was more likely to announce in his policy speech a rise in home mortgage allowances in salaries tax to benefit all mortgage-payers.
