Government housing policy measures not enough – CBRE

The real-estate services firm said the measures pledged in Hong Kong Chief Executive’s Policy Statement are unlikely to provide an instant remedy to Hong Kong’s steadily escalating housing fever.

In a statement, CB Richard Ellis said that given the difficult housing market conditions confronting Hong Kong’s sandwich class, the government has no alternative but to step up the pace of its direct intervention in the housing market.

“While the Policy Statement attempts to deal simultaneously with a number of areas which are a source of public dissatisfaction, however, by far the most powerful policy tool which the Chief Executive can avail himself over the short term is simply increasing the supply of development land zoned for residential use,” CBR said, adding, “clearly aware of the fiasco which attended an earlier CE’s 1997 pledge to create “85,000” new housing units per year in Hong Kong, when he ventures into the sensitive area of future targeted annual housing supply, Mr. T sang reiterates very firmly that “in the next ten years, on average land needs to be made available annually for some 20,000 private residential flats.”

CBR added that the proposed measures acknowledge Hong Kong’s need over the long-term and from a macro-perspective of formulating a strategy on land development.