The land disposal programme for next financial year has split the industry, with analysts calling for more larger sites to be auctioned while developers favour keeping them on the application list.
Insignia Brooke consultant Nicholas Brooke suggested the Government offer larger sites for auction or tender instead of reserving them on the application list. Mr Brooke criticised last year's land disposal programme as being too conservative.
'The Government has to send a positive message to the market and developers through the coming land-sale policy,'' he said.
Mr Brooke said the Government should actively control land supply rather than leaving it for private developers to decide. Most lots sold at auction last year were small or in the New Territories.
The Government re-introduced the land application system in 1999 after the suspension of land sales for nine months as the market slumped. Land on the application list is not released until developers apply and offer an acceptable bid to the Government, giving developers more influence over land supply.
Developers generally want the Government to continue to reserve larger or more expensive sites on the application list.