TNAG-0669-FCO40-818-Policy-on-housing-and-resettlement-in-Hong-Kong-1977 — Page 139

G.F. 323

CONFIDENTIAL #B

2

proposed mortgage scnome.

The recent survey on

aspirations towards home ownership indicates that about half of the target income group (75,000) might be interested in becoming home owners. If these indications should approximate actual demand, strong pressures are likely to be exerted on the Government to extend the mortgage scheme, once it is launched, to enable some 45,000 eligible households to buy suitable flats built by the private sector.

5。 The working Party has asked Messrs. Rothschilds to devise a mortgage scheme capable of extension beyond the 30,000 flats to be built by the public sector, and capable of application to flats built by the private sector. If the scheme has to be extended to enable some 45,000 households to buy private-sector-built flats, there will be that many more households competing for the limited stock of private-sector-built flats. In the circumstances it would seem desirable to ensure now that suitable1 flats are produced in sufficient quantities to - meet the likely demand. Otherwise the prices of flats might, through the demand being significantly in excess of supply, be forced up to such levels that eligible households would not be able to achieve home ownership even with the intervention of the proposed mortgage scheme.

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6. It has been suggested that one way of increasing the production of flats would be to make more land available, but it does not necessarily follow from this that either the Housing Authority would be able to build suitable flats fast enough or that private developers would build suitable flats, particularly in terms of prices. What is required is the ability and willingness to build suitable flats in excess of the 30,000 flats intended to boost the public housing programme. The Working Party has two choices open to it, namely -

either (a) provide more resources for the Housing

Authority;

or

(b) enter into joint ventures with private

developers.

1.

Suitable in terms of basic design,

size and price.

CONFIDENTIAL

機密