2
Friday, March 16, 1973
The bulk (95 per cent) of new private domestic accommodation continues
to be built for sale in the first instance with much of it (63 per cent) eventually
being occupied by the new owners.
Sale prices continued to advance during 1972 and this is illustrated
by the fact that of the premises built for sale, only 2.26 per cent were priced
in the "$40,000 and below" bracket, compared with 24.4 per cent last year. Nearly
40 per cent of the premises built in 1972 were priced at over $100,000.
Domestic rentals continued to move upwards and the department's rental
index rose by nearly 10 per cent over the year (46.66 per cent since December
1968).
Overall Increase
Where rentals of existing tenancies actually increased during the
year the overall average increase was some 27 per cent, but large and medium
flats suffered the worst in this respect with average increases of roughly 42
per cent and 39 per cent respectively.
+
Even these figures do not provide the full rental picture for the
rents of many existing tenancies are subject to the restraining influence of
the Rent Increases (Domestic Premises) Control Ordinance.
For premises not covered by the Ordinance, tenants seeking accommodation
will have to pay at least $440 per month for a small tenement floor whilst those
looking for accommodation in the "luxury" class must expect to pay a monthly
rental of over $3,500 per month.
Some 928,500 square feet of trading accommodation was built during 1972
and this was significantly more (about 20 per cent) than the amount of space
actually taken up during the year - - some 780,000 square feet.
/Around