A group of young people are urging the government to introduce further measures to put a curb to soaring property prices. They are also calling for policies to help them buy homes.
In a recent meeting with the undersecretary for transport and housing, Yau Shing-mu, the group said housing prices were now beyond their reach. They also expressed concerns that recent government measures to cool the property market may not work.
The measures announced last month include a ban on resales of new flats before the initial transaction is completed. It also announced the conversion of 20 hectares of industrial land for residential use.
The government and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority also banned quick resales of flats, vowed to put more land on the market and crack down on mortgage lending for top-end properties amid evidence previous measures have not worked.
Banks have been told to cut loans to luxury homebuyers and property investors from the current 70 per cent of a property's value to 60 per cent. The government said the tighter lending rules will apply to properties costing HK$12 million or more and all properties not for self-use.
The measures are aimed at curbing speculation, particularly in the luxury market. Analysts say high property prices have largely been fuelled by a strong increase in the prices of top-end flats. Growing demand from mainland buyers is one of the main reasons. Now the surge in prices has spread from luxury flats to small-and middle-sized flat markets.