Reviving the government-subsidised Home Ownership Scheme now would not be an instant fix for high property prices since it would take seven years to get the first flats on sale, the housing director says.
But Duncan Pescod's contention was questioned by surveyors and lawmakers. They said the market had already been cooled by news that the government was considering a return to building subsidised housing, along with measures to dampen foreign investment in the private market.
'I fear people assume that the decision to do so would immediately have some sort of impact on the property market. Well, I personally am sceptical,' Pescod said at a meeting with the Housing Authority. 'I must point out that even an optimistic timetable would only see new units coming on stream after about seven years under normal circumstances.'
Even if suitable land was found, a year would be required for basic planning, another year or so for the infrastructure and three to five years for construction, he said.
The scheme was halted in 2002 as part of efforts to rejuvenate the then-battered property market.
Raymond Chan Yuk-ming, a spokesman for the Institute of Surveyors' planning and development division, said the time for construction could be shortened to less than four years. Private developers could complete a building within one to two years once the foundation work was done, he said.
'Private developers want to finish the construction to sell the flats as soon as possible as they need to pay interest on the land and construction cost,' he said. 'But the government takes longer as it does not want to pay a higher construction cost.'