XN000022-1979-05-21 — Page 6

MONDAY, MAY 21, 1979

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MR. FRY SAID THE SUPPLY OF LARGE FLATS AT ONLY 170 UNITS WAS VERY DISAPPOINTING AND HAD EXACERBATED THE ALREADY NOTED ACUTE SHORTAGE.

TOTAL DOMESTIC VACANCIES AT DECEMBER 1978 WERE AROUND 9,300 UNITS, SLIGHTLY DOWN ON THE PREVIOUS YEAR. HOWEVER, THE COMMISSIONER SAID THAT AS THESE REPRESENTED ONLY SOME TWO PER CENT OF STOCK, THEY WERE NOT SIGNIFICANT.

RENTALS IN ALL DOMESTIC CLASSES INCREASED SIGNIFICANTLY DURING 1978, WITH AVERAGE INCREASES OF 14 PER CENT TO 20 PER CENT ON 1977 FIGURES. MOREOVER, THE SITUATION CHANGED RAPIDLY TOWARDS THE END OF THE YEAR, AND FIGURES RECORDED IN THE FOURTH QUARTER WERE UP CONSIDERABLY ON THE EARLIER FIGURES.

MR. FRY NOTED THAT, WITH THE EXPANSION OF HONG KONG AS AN INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL AND COMMERCIAL CENTRE, THE DEMAND FOR ACCOMMODATION BY OVERSEAS NATIONALS RE-LOCATING HERE IS RESULTING IN AN EVER INCREASING DEMAND FOR WHAT IS TERMED LUXURY-CLASS ACCOMMODATION.

THE SALES MARKET WAS ALSO EXTREMELY BUOYANT IN 1978 AND SUBSTANTIAL INCREASES RANGING FROM 20 PER CENT TO 38 PER CENT OVER 1977 WERE RECORDED FOR DOMESTIC CLASSES.

THE SUPPLY OF RETAIL SHOP SPACE AT 131,000 SQUARE METRES WAS ROUGHLY THE SAME AS IN 1977, BUT SUBSTANTIAL INCREASES ARE FORECAST FOR 1979 AND 1980.

VACANCIES WERE UP SOME 34 PER CENT ON THE PREVIOUS YEAR, BUT THE COMMISSIONER EXPLAINED THAT THIS WAS NOT PARTICULARLY SIGNIFICANT AS A LARGE PROPORTION WAS CONTAINED IN SEVERAL LARGE BUILDINGS WHICH WERE ONLY COMPLETED TOWARDS THE END OF THE YEAR.

IN RESPECT OF OFFICE ACCOMMODATION, MR. FRY SAID THAT FOR GOOD LOCATIONS, +WE HAVE GONE FROM A STATE OF PLENTY TO SCARCITY.+

THE YEAR'S SUPPLY AT 185,000 SQUARE METRES WAS 30 PER CENT DOWN ON 1977, AND THE LOWEST AMOUNT COMPLETED SINCE 1970,

SOME 28 PER CENT OF COMPLETIONS WERE IN WAN CHAI WHICH ACTUALLY EXCEEDED THE COMBINED SUPPLY OF CENTRAL AND TSIM SHA TSUI DISTRICTS.

+WITH A LESSER SUPPLY IN 1979 THE POSITION IS UNLIKELY TO IMPROVE MUCH, BUT THE BALANCE SHOULD SWING AGAIN IN 1980, WHEN A RECORD AMOUNT OF OVER 300,000 SQUARE METRES IS FORECAST FOR COMPLETION,+ HE SAID.

THE TAKE-UP OF OFFICE ACCOMMODATION WAS A RECORD 293,200 SQUARE METRES. MR. FRY NOTED THAT THIS WAS THE THIRD YEAR RUNNING THAT TAKE-UP HAD EXCEEDED 200,000 SQUARE METRES.

VACANCIES AT 131,000 SQUARE METRES ARE AT THE IR LOWEST SINCE

THE POSITION WAS 1974, AND DOWN SOME 45 PER CENT ON 1977 FIGURES. PARTICULARLY MARKED IN GRADE B OFFICES, DOWN 61 PER CENT.

/RENTS HARDENED