XN000022-1973-03-16 — Page 3

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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.

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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.

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