Hong Kong government to slow land sales as it exceeds annual target for supply of new flats
Two sites will be released for tender in the coming three months, but MTR and URA will not provide any more land
Hong Kong’s government will slow the release of land for tender in the coming three months as it has exceeded its target for the supply of new flats this financial year by 35 per cent, the development secretary said on Monday.
Michael Wong said the government will have provided land for 24,300 flats, including land sold by subway operator MTR Corp, the Urban Renewal Authority and private developers, for the financial year ending in March.
“That exceeds the annual target of 18,000 units by 6,300,” he said at a media briefing.
Land at two residential sites, one at the city’s former airport at Kai Tak and the other in the northern area of Tsing Yi, would be released for tender in the next three months, with a total capacity of 1,600 flats. No land will be offered for tender by either MTR Corp, in which the Hong Kong government is the largest stakeholder, or the URA.
Government land sales alone, excluding MTR and URA land, had provided sites for 1,880 flats in the third quarter, for 6,730 in the second and for 8,000 in the first quarter, official data showed.
Property consultants said however that even though the government had exceeded its annual target for land for private flats, there would be limited impact on home prices.
“It will take about three to six years for units built on the land to be put on sale, so it is unlikely to add severe downward pressure on home prices,” said Vincent Cheung, Colliers International’s deputy managing director for Asia valuation and advisory services. He expects home prices to rise a further 10 per cent in 2018.