Our Hong Kong Foundation proposes reforming subsidised housing schemes
TONY CHEUNG
TONY.CHEUNG@SCMP.COM
PUBLISHED : Monday, 09 November, 2015, 1:43pm
UPDATED : Monday, 09 November, 2015, 1:50pm
The Our Hong Kong Foundation says those living in subsidised housing should be allowed to pay a land premium to the government that does not fluctuate with the market. Photo: Dickson Lee
A think tank has proposed reforming Hong Kong’s subsidised housing schemes with a view to helping at least 80 per cent of the city’s households become home owners.
Launching its first policy proposal, the one-year-old Our Hong Kong Foundation proposed that those living in subsidised housing should be allowed to pay a land premium to the government that does not fluctuate with the market to enable them to sell their property as a step to owning a home in the private market.
Currently, people can buy a subsidised home from the authorities at a discounted price, but they cannot sell the flat unless they pay the land premium determined by the market.
READ MORE: High rent, low salaries: how young Hongkongers are scheming to secure subsidised housing
With property prices having soared in recent years, those living in subsidised homes have complained their land premiums have increased to levels that have made it impossible to sell their flats and buy a new one in the private market.
The foundation’s adviser Professor Richard Wong Yue-chim, chair of economics at the University of Hong Kong, said: “To keep families in public housing from having to chase after a constantly rising target ... we propose a few options [including locking in the premium] at the year of occupation ... The long term objective of [this] scheme is for 80 per cent of households in Hong Kong to own their property.”
It is estimated about half of the city’s population are home owners.
On land supply, the foundation proposed developing 9,000 hectares of land - three times the size of Sha Tin - in the next three decades.
It endorsed the government’s controversial plans to develop new towns in the northern New Territories and to reclaim “artificial islands” near Lantau.
The foundation also dropped a strong hint that the government should consider developing part of the city’s country parks or green zones for residential or commercial use.
http://m.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/economy/article/1877004/80pc-hong-kong-households-can-own-homes-fixed-land-premiums
