The red-hot property market in Hong Kong has left private residential prices unaffordable and the trend is expected to continue for the next 20 years, according to a research report released by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS).
The report on property affordability over the next five, 10 and 20 years will be submitted to the government to help finalise annual budgets.
The report points out that the government should be providing enough land for approximately 22,000 units per year for the next five to 10 years, based on the housing needs of Hong Kong’s population.
The present policy however, only permits 18,500 units per year. RICS believes more land will need to be released for construction, if the deficit is to be made up.
“At present, there appears to be a mismatch between the supply of small sized flats, Class A flats, and the needs of the average households, but in recent years, we noticed that the unit price per square feet price of large sized flats, Class C, D and E flats, of three or four bedrooms were rising much faster than those small sized flats with one or two bedrooms,” said David Tse, RICS International Governing Councilor and Chairman of RICS Hong Kong Housing Task Force.
“RICS is calling on the government to conduct regular surveys on the future aspirations of the average households on types and sizes of flats before laying down appropriate housing and land supply policies to meet the functional and future needs of Hong Kong households,” he said.