Fewer applicants willing to try their luck for subsidized home purchases

The Housing Authority said it had received 163,000 applications for the Home Ownership Scheme as of 5 pm on Monday, two hours before the application closed for the latest batch of around 9,100 subsidized flats.

It is significantly lower compared to 242,000 applications for over 8,900 flats last year.

Lawmaker Scott Leung Man-kwong, deputy chairman of the Legislative Council’s housing panel, said the lukewarm response was “surprising” and showed homebuyers might be worried about the falling home prices and a gloomy economic outlook.

Successful applicants can choose from 9,154 flats at Kai Yuet Court, On Ying, On Lai and On Wah courts in Kwun Tong, Siu Tsui Court in Tuen Mun and Long Tin Court in Yuen Long at 38 percent discounts from assessed market values, with prices ranging from HK$1.49 million at Long Tin to HK$4.94 million at Kai Yuet.