XN000022-1994-07-06 — Page 13

WEDNESDAY, JULY 6, 1994

TARGET TO

MR EASON SAID SOME PEOPLE HAD CRITICISED THE PRODUCTION OF 45,000 TO 60,000 ADDITIONAL FLATS AS INADEQUATE, BUT HE HAD YET HIKAR A COBERENT ARGUMENT AS TO WHAT WAS ADEQUATE.

"ARE WE TO AIM TO SATISFY A 100 PER CENT OF POTENTIAL DEMAND OR TAKE A REALISTIC VIEW OF THE LEVEL OF EFFECTIVE DEMAND?

TOTAL HOUSING ARE CURRENTLY

"WE SHOULD NOT LOSE SIGHT OF THE FACT THAT THE STOCK ALREADY EXCEEDS THE NUMBER OF HOUSEHOLDS AND WE PRODUCING OVER 70,000 FLATS A YEAR, OF WHICH THE MAJORITY ARE ASSISTED HOUSING.

OF HE SAID THE TASK FORCE HAD PROPOSED A COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW

PUBLIC AND AND COMPOSITION OF HOUSING DEMAND IN BOTH THE THE SCALE PRIVATE SECTORS, TO GUIDE THE GOVERNMENT IN THE ALLOCATION OF LAND FOR DIFFERENT TYPES OF HOUSING.

STUDY SHOWS A NEED FOR A HIGHER OUTPUT OF "IF THE WILL RESPOND BY SUPPLYING MORE LAND.

1-

FLATS,

WE

AS REGARDS SUGGESTIONS TO ASSIST PEOPLE TO BUY OLDER PROPERTIES BY REQUIRING BANKS TO RELAX THEIR LENDING POLICIES, SETTING UP HOUSING LOAN SCHEME WITH PUBLI FUNDS, OR POOLING RESOURCES THROUGH CREDIT UNION TYPE OPERATION, MR FASON SAID THESE ARGUMENTS WERE ON ASSUMPTIONS THAT DID NOT STAND UP WELL TO SCRUTINY.

"FIRST, PROPLE ASSUME THAT THERE ARE FEW TRANSACTIONS IN PROPERTIES, BUT AN ANALYSIS OF THE SALES RECORD BETWEEN JULY 1993

SHOWS 1994

THAT

ONE-THIRD

THE TRANSACTIONS RESIDENTIAL PROPERTIES INVOLVED FLATS THAT ARE OVER 15 YEARS OLD,

MARCH

ABOUT

یٹر

BASED

OLDER

AND

IN

"SECOND, SOME PEOPLE ASSUME THAT RELAXING THE LENDING POLICY NOT RELEASE

MUST WOULD

A LARGE DEMAND FOR OLDER PROPERTIES, BUT WE FORGET THAT OLDER PROPERTIES ARE LESS ATTRACTIVE AND POPULAR THAN NEW PROPERTIES.

THIRD, THERE ARE NO HARD AND FAST RULES ON MORTGAGE LENDING THE POLICY VARIES FROM BANK TO BANK AND THE LENDING RATIO VARIES CASE TO CASE, EVEN FOR PROPERTIES OF A SIMILAR AGE.

ΤΟ

BUY PROPERTIES.

THERE

TU

AS

FROM

ABLE FOR NEW PROPERTIES HELPING

"FINALLY, IT IS WRONG TO ASSUME THAT IF MORE PEOPLE WERE

PROPERTIES, OLDER

BE WOULD

LESS DEMAND ON THE CONTRARY, THE HOUSEHOLD SIZE IN OLDER IS USUALLY HIGHER, OFTEN WITH SHARED OCCUPANCY, AND THEREFORE

TO PEOPLE

BUY OLDER PROPERTIES IS MORE LIKELY

INCREASE OVERALL DEMAND."

TO

HOWEVER, MR EASON SAID, THE GOVERNMENT WOULD KEEP THE SITUATION

AND CONSIDER REVIEW

THE POSSIBLE NEED TO FIRST-TIME BUYERS

UNDER

PARTICULARLY SOME TIME IN THE FUTURE.

THE

ASSIST

THOSE

-

IN BUYING OLDER

PROPERTIES

AT

0

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