Sino Land (0083) chairman Robert Ng Chee-siong said he supports a "flexible and reasonable trigger price reduction in the land application list system."

New World Development (0017) chairman Henry Cheng Kar-shun said the government has plenty of ways to increase land supply and his company will back moves to resume regular land sales.

The government is aware of the calls, said Secretary for Development Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor. But she said any changes must follow three policy principles - the market should take precedence over government intervention; land policy must be clear; and for a stable income, land will not be dirt cheap.

Ng concurs and believes the recent downtrend in both the primary and secondary home markets is "healthy."

Property prices will fall 3 to 5 percent in the fourth quarter, helping to bring down the average household mortgage burden, said Ivy Wong Mei-fung, managing director of Centaline Mortgage Broker.

Ng said banks are right to give smaller mortgage loans for luxury properties. This would discourage buyers who cannot afford multimillion- dollar residences. Such a policy could help prevent a situation similar to the US subprime mortgage crisis, caused mainly by banks lending freely.

Sino Land is waiting for pre-sale consent for The Hermitage and expects to launch the project within 12 months.

The project near Austin Station will have more than 900 flats.

On pricing, Ng said as Hong Kong's economy is ever-changing, prices for The Hermitage will not be decided until the company wins the pre-sale consent.

Ng said Sino Land has been wary of buying land in the mainland because prices have risen since it bought two sites in Chongqing and Chengdu in 2007.