Flats nearly 50 per cent cheaper for young couples and families among basket of measures to tackle Hong Kong housing crisis
Reforming pricing of subsidised units among measures Chief Executive Carrie Lam announces to tackle city’s long-running housing problems
“There is no political motive,” Lam said in relation to the announcement coming a day before she marks her first year in office as the city’s leader. “It’s just because housing in Hong Kong is the most important, most complicated and most serious problem.”
Reforming the pricing system for subsidised flats was one of six measures Lam announced that would benefit young couples and families struggling to buy homes. Other proposals included imposing a vacancy tax equivalent to two years of rental income on empty new flats, reallocating more land originally earmarked for private housing to build public flats, inviting the Urban Renewal Authority to build starter homes at Ma Tau Wai, imposing more stringent conditions on developers’ sales of uncompleted flats, and forming a task force to drive temporary housing projects launched by community groups.
Hours before the announcement, the latest government figures showed home prices in May climbing for the 26th straight month, although at a slower rate.