The Zhitong Finance App learned that on July 13, at the public meeting of the Hong Kong Housing Authority, the Director of Hong Kong Housing Authority, Lee Pui-si, said that the authorities are making every effort to promote public housing development. The comprehensive waiting period for public housing in the latest quarter has dropped to 4.7 years, the lowest record in more than eight years. The government has found enough land to meet the supply target of 294,000 public housing units over the next ten years. Looking ahead to the next five years from 2026-27, the total number of public housing units built (including simple public housing) is about 196,000 units, an increase of more than 80% over the five-year period when the current administration took office.
Li Pui Sze mentioned that the number of applicants waiting for public housing is also showing a downward trend. At the end of March 2026, there were about 103,000 general public housing applications, a sharp drop of more than 30% compared with the highest number of about 156,000. There were about 81,000 non-elderly applications under the quota and credit system. Compared with the highest number of about 144,000, this is a sharp drop of more than 40%.
Among them, the drop in applications from non-elderly people under 30 is even more obvious. Over the past ten years, it has dropped from about 71,000 cases to about 29,500 cases at present, a drop of about 60%. The Administration will continue to move further towards the goal of reducing the comprehensive waiting period for public housing to 4.5 years in 2026-27.
In addition to helping applicants for public housing to “go upstairs” faster, the authorities have also been providing various types of funding to sell units in an effort to improve the housing ladder. On the supply side, in order to increase the supply of subsidized sales units, the ratio of public housing (including green housing) and subsidized sales units will be gradually adjusted from 70:30 to 60:40 within ten years. Among them, the number of units sold under the Home Ownership Program has increased from about 4,000 units per year a few years ago to about 9,000 units per year. The average for the next five years will reach an average of about 12,000 units, and supply will rise markedly.
Furthermore, in order to promote the circulation of subsidized housing sales, landlords are encouraged to move up the home buying ladder, starting with the “Sale of Residential Units 2025” and “Sale of Green Residential Units 2025” sales plans. The Housing Commission's new subsidized sales order is within the restricted period of transfer in the open market, which has been shortened from 15 years to 10 years.
Reinvigorate the aspect of plans for tenants to buy their homes. The Housing Authority is carrying out preparatory work. It is expected to conduct research within this year to gather opinions from a wide range of public housing tenants and stakeholders in order to consider in detail whether to re-launch the tenancy plan.
Lee Pui-sze also pointed out that many young people are trying to gradually move upward and buy a home and settle down. Funding to sell the unit is an affordable option for them. Starting at the end of March this year, the Housing Authority and the Hong Kong Housing Society will provide as many as 60,000 subsidized sales units over the next five years. To assist families with newborn families, the Housing Authority has implemented the “Preferential Housing Selection Plan for Newborn Families” since “Home 2024”. So far, more than 800 families have successfully purchased first-hand subsidized sales units under the program. More than 30,000 young families are expected to benefit as the supply of housing increases.
In addition to increasing the supply of housing and optimizing sales arrangements, the Government is also optimizing financial arrangements to assist citizens (including young people) to buy homes in all aspects. After the Hong Kong Monetary Authority revised regulations on property mortgage loans, first-time buyers purchased properties worth HK$10 million or less, and the mortgage ratio could reach 90%. In addition, the Government has adjusted the ad valorem stamp duty so that only HK$100 property stamp duty will be levied uniformly for properties of HK$4 million or less to reduce the burden on homebuyers.
At the same time, the Housing Authority will welcome the first batch of public rental public housing units in the North Capital New Development Area, including about 5,000 units in Kwu Chun Estate Phase I in Kwu Tung and about 3,100 units in Phase 1 of Fenghuang Ling Estate in Fanling North, and will enter into partnerships in stages starting in the third quarter of this year. In the next five years, out of the estimated total housing rental and sale volume of housing leased and funded by the Housing Authority and the Housing Association, about 70,000 units are located in Beidu, accounting for about 40% of the total number of public housing units built in the five years.
Li Pui Sze said that in terms of speeding up the reconstruction of housing estates. The Housing Authority has been considering the orderly redevelopment of individual housing estates to the extent practicable. The Housing Authority has now invested a large amount of resources in reconstruction. Under the reconstruction plan that has now been announced, the number of units to be built has exceeded 40,000, which is about 2.5 times that of the more than 16,000 units in the past ten years. The Housing Authority will continue to study and implement housing estate redevelopment in due course, and implement measures to maintain and improve the condition of existing buildings, ensure the structural safety of housing estates, and provide a safe living environment for residents.