Photo taken on Sept 18, 2019 shows a residential area in Quarry Bay, Hong Kong, south China. (PHOTO / XINHUA)
The government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region said the 12 residential land plots that are due to go out for tender in the 2023-24 financial year can provide about 9,120 units, the highest tally since the 2019-20 financial year.
For the first quarter (April to June) of the 2023-24 financial year, the government will put out for tender two residential sites that should yield about 2,400 flats, and five private redevelopment projects that should involve about 360 units.
Developers might decide to hold onto the units before releasing them at a later stage depending on market expectations. Therefore, it is important that the government releases plots as planned in a consistent manner to ensure it meets its housing targets
“The 12 residential sites, of which eight are in the New Territories, two are on Hong Kong Island, and two are in Kowloon; and six of them are rolled over from the 2022-23 Land Sale Program,” Secretary for Development Bernadette Linn Hon-ho said in the Thursday news conference.
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“The land sales program of the financial year of 2022-23 will produce 16,050 units, which is 25 percent higher than the original forecast of 12,900 units, the second-highest in the last five financial years,” Linn added.
“It is difficult to predict whether the 12 residential plots can be successfully launched this financial year as this depends on whether the government has accurate valuations of the plots considering the market conditions, and if there will be new measures to attract bidders,” said Hannah Jeong, head of valuation and advisory services at Colliers Hong Kong.
Developers might decide to hold onto the units before releasing them at a later stage depending on market expectations. Therefore, it is important that the government releases plots as planned in a consistent manner to ensure it meets its housing targets.
“The government should improve valuation accuracy based on the latest market conditions and increase the attractiveness of sites using all means necessary to prevent consecutive failed sales, which would slow down land supply and hurt the overall development of Hong Kong,” Jeong added.
In the 2023-24 Budget delivered on Wednesday, the SAR government revealed that 20,550 residential flats will be provided, under the land sales program, railway property development, private development and redevelopment projects as well as the Urban Renewal Authority’s projects.
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The government also said it had identified sufficient land for building about 360,000 public housing units.
“Public housing (levels) remain insufficient in the short term coupled with uneven supply distribution over the years. The rebound in pricing could be slower given the positive roadmap of future supply, developers’ sale stock overhang from recent years’ weak market, higher interest rate environment and external economic uncertainties,” CBRE Executive Director and Head of Valuation and Consulting Rita Wong predicted.
oswald@chinadailyhk.com