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Hong Kong sets larger-than-expected minimum size of 280 square feet for flats, increases land supply to tackle housing affordability
- The tiniest living space built on government land must not be smaller than 280 sq ft (26 sq m), says Secretary for Development Michael Wong Wai-lun.
- Hong Kong’s government will also expand the supply of housing land to accommodate 20,080 homes, exceeding the annual target by 56 per cent
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Hong Kong’s government set a larger-than-expected minimum size for the city’s new homes and increased the supply of residential land to a four-year high, as the authorities announced a new housing strategy to tackle one of the most intractable socioeconomic issues in the world’s least affordable city.
The tiniest living space built on government land must not be smaller than 280 square feet (26 square metres), Secretary for Development Michael Wong Wai-lun said at a press briefing, adding that the new rule will be tested in Tuen Mun, where 2,020 flats will be built. The market was expecting a minimum size of between 200 and 250 sq ft.
Hong Kong’s government will also expand the supply of housing land in the coming three months, bringing the total number of new homes to 20,080 for the financial year ending March 31, 2021. That exceeds the annual target by 56 per cent, Wong said.
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“The government will continue to speed up the pace of making land [available] and building homes,” Wong said. It will “continue to use a multipronged approach to maintain stable supply” in response to Hongkongers’ housing demand, and offer solutions to address issues of “economic and social development,” he said.
The total supply will be the highest since the 25,500 units in the financial year ended March 2018.
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