Housing Supply Will Ease This Year: Govt

Financial Secretary Paul Chan says he expects Hong Kong's “tight supply” of housing to ease in the coming year, but he's also warned homebuyers of the risks posed by possible interest rate hikes.

Delivering his budget speech on Wednesday, Chan said the government is planning to build a total of about 100,000 public rental units and subsidised flats in the next five years.

He said the private sector is also expected to complete around 20,800 homes each year over the next five years, representing an increase of about 50 percent over the past five years.

Including the 15 sites rolled over from 2017-18, Chan said 27 residential sites will be rolled out in the land sale programme for the next financial year, with the land providing space for about 15,200 flats. Details of the programme will be announced on Thursday, he said.

Chan also said that as interest rates in the US return to normal, the ultra-low interest rates of the past will no longer persist. He warned prospective homebuyers to carefully assess the risks associated with this change, especially any impact on their ability to repay their mortgages.

The financial secretary also said that the key factors underpinning soaring property prices over the past few years were undergoing fundamental changes. But he said there is no plan yet to lift special stamp duties aimed at cooling the market.