156
HONG KONG ANNUAL REPORT
Little land was sold by auction for housing, due partly to scarcity of sites and in part to the higher priority accorded to approved low-cost non-profit-making housing schemes, land for which may be acquired by private treaty at roughly one-third of market value.
Revenue obtained during the financial year 1957-8 from the sale of land by auction amounted to $9,783,889, from renewals of expired 75-year leases $2,086,485, and from private treaty sales, modifications, extensions and exchanges $11,909,599.
Where it is not possible to dispose of land immediately, usually because public services are not yet available or because a site is reserved for some future purposes, the land is not left empty or unused but is granted on a temporary annual licence. The 1957-8 revenue from such licences was $2,835,219. During the year, due to the expansion of permanent development, it became necessary to cancel some of these licences, which are likely to decrease in number as time goes on.
Land Value and Development Trends. The steady rise over the past ten years in the value of land used for residential purposes was not so apparent in 1958; in fact there was a lull in develop- ment of this nature during the middle of the year. Industrial land values, on the other hand, were unaffected, and, if anything, such values rose slightly during the year, possibly because many owners of unrestricted leases decided to purchase industrial sites in the outlying districts, thereby releasing the more central sites, occupied by outmoded factory buildings, for multi-storey residential de- velopment.
Residential development trends continued more and more to- wards the skyscraper pattern, particularly in districts where land values were high. The re-development of existing premises con- tinued unabated and tenancy tribunals, convened to hear applica- tions for the exemption of properties from the provisions of the Landlord and Tenant Ordinance, dealt with as many cases as, if not more than, in the previous year. Statutory tenants were paid a higher rate of compensation per square foot by their landlords so that vacant possession could be obtained.
A Development Division of the Public Works Department was set up during 1958 to plan and carry out large-scale engineering works designed to open up new land for housing and industry.