Land is at a premium in Hong Kong. After decades of high land prices and inflation, many Hongkongers believe investing in property is their ultimate dream and the best financial investment in life.
Many developers have not only made a fortune by taking advantage of this high demand, some have made billions more by exploiting policy loopholes. They reaped huge profits by selling flats with inflated saleable floor areas.
Early last year, the government zeroed in on private developers' opaque sales tactics and exaggerated advertising claims - which led buyers to think they were paying for more than they got - by implementing a series of measures to curb unfair sales practices. They were meant to tighten the rules that control property transactions in the primary housing market.
The government now wants to introduce legislation to prevent developers from using the provision of public space to increase the saleable floor area, hoping to limit the percentage of inflated floor space to under 10 per cent.
Officials might have plugged a loophole in one area, but some developers, with the help of estate agents, have managed to seek out legal loopholes elsewhere, and have manipulated the market to maximise profits.
A case in point is the controversy surrounding a luxury residential development at No 38 Conduit Road, previously the site of a tenement building. A disgruntled buyer accused the developer, Winfoong International, of failing to honour the transaction.
The buyer complained that she had paid nearly HK$10 million for a 690 sq ft unfinished apartment that looked like a 'rubbish dump' when she took possession of it. She claimed the layout, facilities and interior fittings were all substandard.