ENG-1981 — Page 149

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Housing and Land

HONG KONG entered the 80s on the crest of a massive building programme which has revolutionised land usage to a degree unprecedented anywhere in the world. Where only recently water flowed, mountains stood and rural paddy fields lay, the makings of entire new communities are now mushrooming. Most are located in the New Territories to the north of urban Kowloon, as virtually all developable land in the urban areas has been exhausted. Self-contained estates in these new towns now form the bulk of public housing production by the Housing Authority, which in the 1980-1 financial year exceeded the 35 000-flat target for the first time. This record output comprised 26 769 rental and 8 674 Home Ownership flats. In addition, 618 rental flats were produced by the Housing Society and the first 1 506 flats were completed under the Private Sector Participation Scheme. The private sector also maintained its high production with 21 500 completions. At a time of mounting inflation and high interest rates, this represented a remarkable achievement by the local building industry.

A study of the breakdown of this production also shows interesting changes in the socio-economic structure of Hong Kong's families and their housing aspirations. Of the 59 000 flats produced in 1980-1, about 30 per cent were purchased for owner-occupation in the private sector; 10 per cent were for renting privately; 15 per cent were purchased by lower middle-income families under government-subsidised schemes; and 45 per cent were occupied by families who meet the criteria for rental public housing.

While the Housing Authority is primarily concerned with the needs of the lowest income groups, the heavy demand for housing from the high and middle-income groups cannot be ignored when considering future housing policies. This has led to the introduction of a supplementary home ownership programme for middle income housholds, i.e. those whose earnings are above the eligibility limits for government's Home Ownership Scheme but who are unable to afford to purchase flats in the open market. During the year, the question of how the government Home Ownership Scheme could be improved to provide more flats for families within and immediately above the income limits for public housing, also came under review. Revised measures, announced by the Governor in his address at the opening session of the Legislative Council in October, should ensure that prices remain well below those in the open market and within the means of the families for whom the scheme is intended.

Despite the current high output of new flats in both the private and public sectors, it is apparent that Hong Kong's housing problem is far from being solved. At the end of 1981, there were still more than 163 000 families on the waiting list and an estimated 144 000 families living in squatter huts. In order to meet the continuing pressure of demand, it will be necessary to maintain the current high rate of production for many more years. To this end, on-going planning studies are being undertaken to ensure that the limited land