Land sale sets stage for sharp increase in supply of homes

Three plots to go on sale this quarter, providing 2,600 flats, as Lee’s team acts on housing crisis

The government will sell more land in its fiscal second quarter, increasing the number of homes that can be built on the land tenfold, after the new administration of Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu pledged to “spare no effort” to ease housing shortages in the world’s least affordable urban centre.

The government will sell three plots of residential land in Sha Tin, Kwai Chung and Tuen Mun, totalling 3.9 hectares, according to Secretary for Development Bernadette Linn Hon-ho. The parcels, valued by Knight Frank at up to HK$9.1 billion, can accommodate 2,600 flats, a tenfold increase from the 270 flats the government offered in the first quarter of the financial year that began on April 1.

“Looking ahead, the government will continue to increase that supply in a multipronged approach, sparing no efforts [to implement] a series of sites production projects, including new development areas, reclamation, rezoning of individual sites,” Linn said in her maiden address as the top official responsible for development.

The plan came hot on the heels of two task forces established by Lee’s administration to tackle Hong Kong’s intractable housing problem and land supply. The two groups held their first meeting on Tuesday.

President Xi Jinping instructed Lee’s team to “strive to deliver” what “the people of Hong Kong desired – a better life, a bigger flat, more business start-up opportunities, better education and better elderly care”, during his keynote speech to inaugurate the new chief executive’s term on July 1.

“We will also continue to look for more land resources as well as compress our development procedure through administration and legislative themes to expedite site search and production to meet the needs of our community,” Linn said.

Lawmaker and surveyor Tony Tse Wai-chuen, chairman of the Legislative Council’s development panel, said the latest announcements meant the government was continuing to fall short of its long-term targets.

“The government’s target is to supply about 13,300 private residential units per year, but now there will only be about 5,300 in the first half of the year,” he said. “I think the government really needs to remove the red tape and speed up the process of land development.”

The 2,600 number was the highest for almost four years, going back to the fourth quarter of 2018, Midland Realty chief analyst Buggle Lau said. The increase was mainly because of the relaunch of the Tuen Mun site, he added.

The relaunch of the Tuen Mun site “in a short time” after the tender failed “reflected the government’s determination tolet the people live in bigger homes”, think tank Our Hong Kong Foundation said.

Additional reporting by Tony Cheung