HONG KONG, Aug. 31, 2012 /PRNewswire-Asia/ -- Vincent Cheung, National Director of Valuation and Advisory of Cushman & Wakefield, Greater China welcomes the HKSAR government's short-, medium- and long-term housing measures announced in a timely manner. The government wishes to speed up the launch of both public and private housing and enhance transparency of policies, showing that the administration is determined to solve housing problems. Cheung recommends that the government step up cross-departmental coordination efforts, and create a schedule for the public, in order to ease the pressure on the housing market.
Measures show government's determination, but short-term supply hardly increases
The government announced a number of short-term housing measures; Cheung points out only two can increase home supply, namely, changing the rent-to-buy My Home Purchase Plan scheme to direct sale and selling unsold Home Ownership Scheme (HOS) flats, mainly of Tin Chung Court in Tin Shui Wai, providing 1,830 flats in total. However, the two measures can only tackle housing needs to a small extent. As for expediting pre-sale approval applications for incomplete flats, the 9,000 flats have already included in the new supply by the market, meaning that it has no help on boosting supply of flats, but putting the market quicker can satisfy market demand to a small extent, and curb the overheating market. In addition, a total of 2,650 private flats will be sold in the Government Land Sale Programme (October - December). Even if all the residential lands can be sold, the new flats will be completed and put to market in 2016. On the conversion of the Chai Wan Industrial Building into 180 small- and medium-sized public rental units, Cheung believes that approval from the Town Planning Board must be sought first, and conversion will take a period of time too. This, therefore, should be regarded as a medium- and long-term measure.
Create a schedule to enhance transparency
In terms of medium- and long-term measures, Cheung hopes the government can improve departmental coordination and communication, to make sure new flats will be made available to public on schedule. By converting an open space in Cheung Sha Wan to accommodate 2,300 public rental units, basic housing needs of grass-roots residents can be dealt with. Cheung says that turning the open space into a golf driving range is definitely a misallocation of resources. However, Cheung notes that the government should conduct careful assessment of load of the roads nearby and acceptance of local residents. In the future, when planning the use of open space, the government should take local residents' population structure and residents' needs into account. Besides, the government plans to sell the remaining 4,000 My Home Purchase Plan flats. Cheung believes that this can meet the housing demand, but the government should set out the details of applicants and flats, so that Hongkongers can differentiate between the Plan and HOS. Commenting on the proposed HOS flats in Kai Tak and units under the Urban Renewal Authority's Kai Tak unit exchange programme, Cheung points out that this can increase supply of HOS flats but recommends that the government announce a schedule as quickly as possible.
Call for coordination of various government departments
The Chief Executive also announced 36 government, institution and community (GIC) sites will be rezoned to provide flats and the policy of revitalising industrial buildings into residential properties be reviewed. Cheung explains that support of government departments and Town Planning Board is needed before carrying out the above two measures. Therefore, task forces should be set up to monitor the progress, and a schedule be made too. Cheung suggests a regional planning and thorough study of industrial areas' impacts on population and transport. Single residential building blocks in an industrial area should be avoided, as this would usually lead to poor living environment and overloading transport and ancillary facilities in the district.
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Cushman & Wakefield is the world's largest privately-held commercial real estate services firm. The company advises and represents clients on all aspects of property occupancy and investment, and has established a preeminent position in the world's major markets, as evidenced by its frequent involvement in many of the most significant property leases, sales and assignments. Founded in 1917, it has 235 offices in 60 countries and more than 14,000 employees. It offers a complete range of services for all property types, fully-integrated on a global basis, including leasing, sales and acquisitions, debt and equity financing, investment banking, corporate services, property management, facilities management, project management, consulting and appraisal. The firm has more than $5.5 billion in assets under management through its wholly-owned subsidiary Cushman & Wakefield Investors. A recognized leader in local and global real estate research, the firm publishes its market information and studies online at www.cushmanwakefield.com/knowledge. In Mainland China, Cushman & Wakefield maintains six market-leading offices in Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Hong Kong. More information is available at www.cushmanwakefield.com.
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