Hong Kong Housing Society will sell more than 400 subsidised flats at 62% of market price, dismisses concerns over property sector downturn

More than 400 subsidised flats in a prime Kowloon district will be sold at 62 per cent of the market price this month by Hong Kong’s second-largest public housing provider, which has dismissed concerns over a downturn in the property sector.

The Hong Kong Housing Society on Wednesday revealed the pricing details of the 422 flats in Kwun Tong, to be completed by 2025, which were among 6,000 subsidised homes planned for six of its projects.

Peter Or Oi-bon, sales and marketing general manager at the society, said most buyers at the coming development were expected to live in the flats themselves.

Hong Kong Housing Society sales and marketing general manager Peter Or showing a map featuring the Kwun Tong development. Flats will range in size from 303 sq ft to 658 sq ft. Photo: Yik Yeung-man

“Most people in Hong Kong continue to have a need to purchase homes,” he said when asked whether a downturn in the property market was a concern. “This is very obvious.”

Known as Hemma Amber, the Anderson Road development is the latest under the society’s “Subsidised Sale Flats” scheme, which includes housing estates consisting of small- and medium-sized units with simple amenities aimed to be sold at a discount to middle-income families.

Sizes range from 303 sq ft to 658 sq ft, with the cheapest flat to be sold at HK$2.55 million (US$327,150) and the most expensive at HK$6.45 million. Prices per square foot will be between HK$8,212 and HK$9,812.

Eligible individual buyers must not have a monthly income exceeding HK$31,000 and cannot hold assets of more than HK$735,000. For family buyers with two or more members, the household must not exceed a monthly income of HK$62,000 and cannot hold more than HK$1.47 million in assets.

The 38 per cent discount is higher than the 30 per cent offered for the last batch made available by the society, but the same as the reduction in the latest round of sales by the Housing Authority earlier this year.

Previous projects by the society include Greenview Villa in Tsing Yi and Terrace Concerto in Tuen Mun. Hemma Amber will be the first such development located outside the New Territories, which is a major attraction and consideration when setting prices, according to Or.

“We are different from the private sector, which is more complicated,” he said. “We can see that as long as they can afford it, a lot of people are still interested in buying property.”

Agreements had been made with 16 banks and financial institutions to provide up to 90 per cent mortgage loans for eligible applicants, Or said.

The application period will run from November 30 until December 13, with a submission fee of HK$270. Eligible applicants will find out the results of the allocation lottery in February next year, with flat selection set for the second quarter and the move-in date for successful buyers scheduled for 2025.

City leader John Lee Ka-chiu said in his policy address that Hong Kong would have a record 410,000 new public flats, including subsidised homes, over the coming decade. The amount is a third more than the estimated demand of 308,000 homes, and the highest since 2014 when the government began revealing the annual numbers.

He also commented on the slow flat sales earlier this month, saying the property market needed time to adjust to the lifting of cooling measures announced in his policy address.

Swiss investment bank UBS earlier this month said private home prices in Hong Kong would decline by 10 per cent next year, adding the combination of high interest rates and excess housing stock led to developers being eager to generate liquidity by providing attractive discounts.