Hong Kong has announced measures that will prioritise locals in the housing market.
This comes after years of price hikes in the city due to the surge of wealthy buyers from mainland China.
Under the “Hong Kong land for Hong Kong people” policy, some properties will only be sold to the city’s seven million residents, “to give priority to the housing need of the local residents”, said Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying.
Leung added that the government will “continue to monitor the property market closely and introduce more measures if necessary”.
The measures include providing land for close to 1,200 residential units by converting 36 sites intended for government and public use into residential zones. It also involves speeding up the issuance of permits for private home sales in order to provide 65,000 additional homes in the next three to four years.
However, some analysts feel the measures are not enough to control the city’s housing market.
“While the pledge to introduce more land in order to improve longer-term supply is welcome, the immediate impact appears limited, judging by the small amount of supply that will come through soon,” said Standard Chartered.
“Overall, we think the latest measures will at best help to calm the market,” added the bank.
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