Hong Kong Housing Authority: Public housing comprehensive waiting time has dropped to 4.7 years, marking the lowest record in over eight years.

On July 13, at the public meeting of the Hong Kong Housing Authority, the Director of the Hong Kong Housing Department, Li Peishi, stated that the government is fully committed to advancing the development of public housing. The latest comprehensive waiting time for public housing has dropped to 4.7 years, the lowest in over eight years. Sufficient land has been identified to meet the target of supplying 294,000 public housing units in the next ten years. Looking ahead to the five years from 2026 to 2027, the overall construction of public housing units (including interim housing) is estimated to be around 196,000 units, an increase of over 80% compared to the five-year period when the current government took office. Li Peishi mentioned that the number of applicants waiting for public housing is also showing a decline. As of the end of March 2026, there were about 103,000 general public housing applications, a decrease of over thirty percent from the peak of about 156,000 applications. As for non-elderly one-person applicants under the quota and points system, there were about 81,000 applications, a decrease of over forty percent from the peak of about 144,000 applications. In particular, the drop in the number of non-elderly one-person applicants under 30 years old is more pronounced, decreasing from about 71,000 applications over the past ten years to approximately 29,500 applications currently, a decline of about sixty percent. The government will continue to work towards the goal of reducing the overall waiting time for public housing to 4.5 years by the fiscal year 2026-2027. In addition to assisting applicants for public housing to "move in" more quickly, the government has been providing various types of subsidy units for sale, aiming to improve the housing ladder. In terms of supply, the ratio of public housing (including Green Form Subsidized Home Ownership Scheme) to subsidy units for sale will gradually adjust from 70:30 to 60:40 over a period of ten years. The number of units sold under the Home Ownership Scheme has increased from around 4,000 units per year a few years ago to approximately 9,000 units per year currently, and is expected to average around 12,000 units per year over the next five years, a significant increase in supply. Furthermore, in order to promote the circulation of subsidized sale housing, encourage homeowners to move up the housing ladder, and starting with the "Home Ownership Scheme 2025" and "Green Form Subsidized Home Ownership Scheme 2025," the restriction period for the transfer of subsidy units newly sold by the Housing Authority on the open market has been reduced from 15 years to 10 years. Regarding the relaunch of the Tenant Purchase Scheme, the Housing Authority is currently preparing for a survey, expected to be launched within this year, to collect opinions from public housing tenants and stakeholders, in order to consider in detail whether to relaunch the scheme. Li Peishi also mentioned that many young people are striving to move up the housing ladder and own a home. Subsidized sale units are an affordable option for them. Starting from the end of March this year, the Housing Authority and the Hong Kong Housing Society will provide up to approximately 60,000 subsidized sale units over the next five years. To assist families with newborns, the Housing Authority has introduced the "Priority Selection Scheme for Families with Newborns" under the "HOPE 2024" initiative, with over 800 families having successfully purchased a first-hand subsidized sale unit under the scheme. With the increase in housing supply, it is expected that over 30,000 young families will benefit. In addition to increasing housing supply and optimizing sales arrangements, the government is also enhancing financial arrangements to assist citizens (including young people) in home ownership. After the Hong Kong Monetary Authority revised the regulatory measures for property mortgage loans, first-time homebuyers purchasing properties valued at HK$10 million or less can now obtain up to ninety percent mortgage financing. Additionally, the government has adjusted the stamp duty tax bands for properties priced at HK$4 million or less, with a uniform stamp duty of only HK$100 imposed, to ease the burden on homebuyers. At the same time, the Housing Authority is set to welcome the first batch of rental public housing units in the Northern Metropolis new development area, including approximately 5,000 units in Phase 1 of Kootong North Estate and approximately 3,100 units in Phase 1 of Fung Ling North Phoenix Hill Estate, with phased occupancy scheduled to start in the third quarter of this year. Over the next five years, it is estimated that approximately forty percent of the total public housing construction volume in the five years will be located in the Northern Metropolis, with a total of about 70,000 units of rental and subsidized sale housing from the Housing Authority and the Housing Society. Li Peishi stated that in accelerating the redevelopment of public housing estates, the Housing Authority has been considering orderly redevelopment of individual housing estates under feasible circumstances. The Housing Authority has currently committed significant resources to redevelopment, and under the announced redevelopment plans, the number of units to be built will exceed 40,000, more than 2.5 times the over 16,000 units built in the past ten years. The Housing Authority will continue to study and implement redevelopment of housing estates in a timely manner, while implementing various measures to maintain and improve the condition of existing buildings, ensuring the structural safety of public housing estates and providing residents with a safe living environment.