Eight residential sites on land sales list amid commercial freeze

Hong Kong will put eight residential sites on the land sale list in the coming fiscal year but will not include any commercial ones to allow the market absorb existing supply, Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po said.

Together with railway, Urban Renewal Authority and private projects, the potential land supply for the whole year is expected to provide around 13,700 flats, similar to projected annual demand for private housing as announced in the long-term housing strategy, Chan said.

The authorities will prepare land for the construction of about 80,000 private homes in the coming five years, of which about 65 percent of them will come from the Northern Metropolis and the Tung Chung New Town Extension, he said.

Chan said the government will consider rezoning some of the commercial sites for residential and allow greater flexibility of land use.

The secretary estimated that over 17,000 homes on average will be completed annually over the coming five years, representing a decrease of about 8 percent over the annual average of the past five years.

Chan expects fiscal revenue from land premiums to be HK$21 billion, up by 55.3 percent from the revised estimate for the current financial year.

The potential supply of new private homes for the next three to four years will be around 107,000 units.

STAFF REPORTER