FLATS in Hong Kong would be more affordable if banks would discontinue their discriminatory mortgage policy against homes and flats which were more than 10 years old, according to local realtors.
''I do not see why banks will not lend money to people wanting to buy older second-hand flats,'' said Michael McGuire, head of the research department for A. G. Wilkinson and Associates.
There is at least a 20 per cent discrepancy between what the banks will lend a customer wanting to buy a new flat - usually 70 per cent of the total price - and what they will lend someone wanting to buy an older second-hand flat.
Realtors say a change of heart in the banks' lending policies will provide first-time home buyers with a greater opportunity to get an affordable flat.
The difference in price between a new flat and an second-hand one can be as much as 50 per cent, according to realtors surveyed.
They say it will also break the vicious cycle of ''catch up'' which families are now having to play to buy a flat.
