Housing Authority reveals high demand for subsidized housing among HK youth

Over 80 percent of the White Form Secondary Market Scheme 2024 applicants are under the “Youth Scheme (WSM)”, highlighting the urgent demand for subsidized housing among young applicants, Chairwoman of the Housing Authority’s Subsidized Housing Committee Cleresa Wong Pie-yue said.

At the ballot drawing ceremony on Thursday, Wong announced the electronic ballot results of the WSM 2024, with the first ten numbers being 49, 35, 39, 85, 77, 76, 32, 21, 38, and 24.

She noted that the scheme has received approximately 34,000 applications, resulting in an oversubscription rate of about 4.6 times based on the 6,000 available quotas.

The WSM 2024 quota has been increased by 1,500 to a total of 6,000, with the extra quotas for applicants under 40 in the “Youth Scheme (WSM).”

Wong noted that over 80 percent of the applications -- around 28,000 -- are for the “Youth Scheme (WSM)”, showing the strong response and urgent demand for subsidized housing among young applicants.

She stated that the Housing Authority includes young applicants in the allocation of 4,500 general quotas. If they are selected early in the process, they can secure a flat through the general allocation. 

The 1,500 quotas under the “Youth Scheme (WSM)” specifically target young applicants who were not successful in the general allocation. 

Regarding the decrease in applications, Wong pointed out that only the WSM 2024 was open this time, unlike previous rounds when both the Home Ownership Scheme and WSM were available simultaneously, which she said makes comparisons inappropriate.

She also noted that the number of applications for subsidized sale flats is influenced by factors such as market sentiment, personal finances, and interest rates. 

Since buying a house is a significant life decision that requires careful thought, the rigid nature of housing demand leads to diverse individual considerations, she added.

(Cheng Wong)