Government to impose restrictions on home resales

Fight to avert property speculation extended to secondary market.

The government will introduce resale restrictions for White Form buyers under the Secondary Market Scheme, said Secretary for Transport & Housing Prof Anthony Cheung. Prof Cheung said the restriction addresses concerns that government is allowing 5,000 White Form applicants a year to purchase Home Ownership Scheme (HOS) flats with premiums not yet paid. White Form applicants are those living in private housing.

This practice might lead to speculative activities and affect the price of flats with premium not yet paid. He said owners cannot sell their flats on the HOS Secondary Market in the first two years after the transaction.

"From the third year onwards, they can sell their HOS flats with premium not yet paid to eligible persons as certified by the Housing Authority. After White Form buyers purchase their flats, if they want to sell their flats on the open market, they need to pay the premium first." The restrictions are made with reference to the resale rules currently applicable to HOS flats.

The arrangement has been widely known to the public, is easy to understand and is acceptable, he said. The government has also put in place other measures like the Special Stamp Duty to curb speculation. Prof Cheung said the government has started preparatory work for the first batch of new HOS projects. "The administration has set a planning objective to provide 17,000 new HOS flats over the four years from 2016-17 onwards.

We expect the pre-sale of the first batch of new HOS flats, which will be completed in 2016-17, can be launched in 2014-15." He said the Housing Authority will release all of the remaining 832 surplus HOS flats for sale early next year. Pre-sale of the 1,000 flats in the Housing Society's Tsing Luk Street project, will start by yearend. "The government will assess demand for HOS in future, and set the supply target under

Join Hong Kong Business community
Since you're here...

...there are many ways you can work with us to advertise your company and connect to your customers. Our team can help you dight and create an advertising campaign, in print and digital, on this website and in print magazine.

We can also organize a real life or digital event for you and find thought leader speakers as well as industry leaders, who could be your potential partners, to join the event. We also run some awards programmes which give you an opportunity to be recognized for your achievements during the year and you can join this as a participant or a sponsor.

Let us help you drive your business forward with a good partnership!