5.3
The result
conducted in January
general expected some
first quarter of 1982.
Property
5.4
of
the Quarterly Business
(1)
Survey
1982 indicated that manufacturers in
deterioration in deterioration in their business in the
In the first quarter, the additional supply of new buildings, in terms of total usable floor area completed, was 28% less than in the first quarter and 24% less than in the fourth quarter of 1981. Apart from commercial buildings, the decrease was widespread among all major types of building (but
these quarterly figures are liable to be subject to
significant short term fluctuations). Although a relatively low figure by recent experience, 599 000 square metres of floor area completed in three months is still very substantial.
1st quarter
1981
Residential Commercial (2)
('000 m2)
1st quarter
1982 ('000 m2)
% change
Industrial (3)
Others
Total
205
145
451
36
837
174
201
162
61
599
-15
39
-64
69
-28
Source : Buildings Ordinance Office
/ There
(1) The Quarterly Business Surveys conducted by the Census and Statistics Department seek from respondents their impression of business conditions in the quarter just past and their opinion regarding business prospects in the forthcoming quarter. The sample used for the survey consists of some 800 firms taken from various sectors. It is a selection of the largest firms in each sector plus a random sample of medium sized firms.
(2)
(3)
Commercial property is defined to include offices, shops and miscellaneous commercial premises such as upper floor restaurants.
Industrial property is defined to include flatted factories, specialised factory buildings and storage premises.
29
Page 210Page 211