New World’s scheme to get graduates on property ladder will have ‘limited impact’
Scheme offering ‘super-low’ down payments is welcome, but won’t make a difference amid Hong Kong’s sky-high prices, say graduates
A property developer’s proposed scheme aimed at giving university graduates a leg-up onto Hong Kong’s housing ladder is “encouraging” but will not have any serious impact in the face of record-high home prices, according to some of those it is supposed to help.
Adrian Cheng Chi-kong, grandson of the late tycoon Cheng Yu-tung and executive vice-chairman of New World Development (NWD), last week said it would offer graduates “super-low” down payments – “several hundred thousand Hong Kong dollars” – for flats costing around HK$5 million (US$640,000) in its future projects.
It’s depressing to think that I’ll be working most of my life just to buy a tiny flat
NWD, Hong Kong’s eighth largest builder with 16 new projects for sale and 27 completed developments, will also absorb the stamp duty and allow a longer mortgage repayment period at an interest rate close to the market rate, Cheng said.
Graduates from Hong Kong universities with a stable income after two to three years of working will be eligible for the “special financing scheme”.
Under current regulations, home buyers can get an 80 per cent mortgage loan for flats priced between HK$4 million and HK$6 million.