LettersHong Kong doesn’t just need more housing, but also homes that last

Readers discuss the city’s poor-quality housing built for profit rather than longevity, the 25-year transformation of Victoria Harbour, the quarantine rules keeping Hongkongers grounded, and erratic bus services during storms

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Bamboo scaffolding covers an old residential building in Hong Kong that will be pulled down and replaced with new flats, seen on March 18. Photo: AFP

Published: 11:30am, 11 Jul 2022

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The property situation in Hong Kong is very bleak and hasn’t been much improved over the last few decades. Not only do we have some of the most expensive housing in the world, but we also have some of the most poorly-made housing.

Instead of trying to build housing at the fastest possible pace we can, we should start building sustainable housing that lasts much longer than 50 years while also improving our overall quality of life.

We could do this by producing housing that can withstand at least the full duration of the typical 75- or 99-year land lease, rather than just building things which are not made to last as a means for developers to maximise their profits.

Additionally, we should adopt more stringent requirements for the sizes of properties while also keeping them affordable, otherwise people will have to make the choice between raising a family or buying a property, as is often the case now.

To even out the extremely high property prices, Hong Kong should try harder to diversify its income, rather than being overly reliant on its declining supply of land. To do this, we need to provide clear goals of what we want to achieve, rather than changing our minds on what sort of hub we want to be as each day goes by.