The Government has also responded to calls for housing subsidies from sandwich class families who are not eligible for public housing and yet cannot afford to buy flats in the private market. In August 1993, the Sandwich Class Housing Loan Scheme was introduced as an interim measure, with a government loan of $2 billion operated by the Housing Society. The scheme assists about 4,000 sandwich class families by giving them loans of up to $550,000 at very low interest to meet down- payments for home purchase. Recently we have launched the Sandwich Class Housing Main Scheme. Sites are granted to the Housing Society at half full-market value to build flats for sale at prices affordable to families with an income between $22,001 and $44,000 per month. The first 1,024 flats in Tsing Yi are now being sold at a discount of about 40% off the market price, with major banks agreeing to offer a mortgage ceiling of 80% and with the last 10% underwritten by the Housing Society itself. These flats are four and a half times over-subscribed. I am confident that the Government's undertaking to assist some 24,000 sandwich class families to buy their own homes before the year 2000 can be achieved.
The schemes which I have just outlined go a long way towards meeting the community's growing aspiration for home ownership. It is our declared policy commitment to ensure that just under 60% of families in Hong Kong will own their own homes by the end of 1997. Over the next few years, we will help an additional 180,000 families to buy their own homes through the various subsidised housing schemes I have just mentioned.
Task Force on Land Supply and Property Prices
Members will recall that, in response to a wide body of public opinion early last year that property prices had risen beyond the affordability of average households in Hong Kong, the Government set up the Task Force on Land Supply and Property Prices which proposed a package of measures in June last year to cool the over-heated residential property market. The three-pronged approach to tackle the problem of property prices has been followed up vigorously. First, we have dampened speculation by modifying the consent scheme to restrict private sales of uncompleted flats and various types of resale. Second, we aim to increase land for housing supply, and have established an inter-departmental Housing Project Action Team to accelerate housing projects already in the pipeline. We aim to provide land to encourage the private sector to produce about 195,000 flats in the next six years. Third, we are striving to streamline planning and development processes, enhance our knowledge of the market situation and increase our responsiveness to it. Since the package of measures was announced, the prices of new flats have fallen by about 10 to 30% depending on locations, and many speculators have already left the market. We are satisfied that the recommendations of the Task Force are being effectively implemented without undue interference in market forces. The resulting moderation in property prices will help first-time home buyers to purchase their own homes.