HONG kong
“One China, Two Systems”
China
Contents
1. Housing Supply Issues 2. The Governments Approach 3. Examples of Housing – Good vs Bad 4. Summary 5. Questions and Answers
10 mins
1. HOUSING SUPPLY Issues
HIGH Population DENSITY
/ =
5385 Persons
per km2
area Population
1068KM2 6.9M
Data Source: Yuen and Yeh (2011)
70% of Hong Kong
is countryside
75% of Hong Kong
is HILLS and Slopes
HIGH Population DENSITY
Source: Agriculture, Fisheries and Culture Department (2014)
HIGH Population DENSITY
Source: Agriculture, Fisheries and Culture Department (2014)
Government Controlled LAND
In Hong Kong land is government owned. It is subdivided before being leased to private developers. One of the main sources of income to the government is the sale of leases through auction and tender. It represents up to 30% of government income.
1.
2.
3.
4.
Data Source: Nissim (2011)
THE RESULT:
Increased LAND prices
High House Prices
0
5
10
15
20
25
World Average
Hong Kong
4.3
23.6
Global House Price Index
2012 to 2013
Ch
an
ge
as
%
Rank
12-month
% Change
6-month %
Change Country
Data Source: Knight Frank (2013)
High House Prices
$50,000
$40,000
$30,000
$20,000
$10,000
$0
1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012
GDP PER CAPITA
Data Source: Google Public Database (2014); World Bank
HONG
KONG AS
10
PEOPLE
HONG KONG
Total
Income
Income Inequality
Poorest Richest
Data Source: Chi-Fai (2012), South China Morning Post
Income Inequality
$60,000
$50,000
$20,000
$10,000
$0
$70,000
$40,000
$30,000
$80,000
GDP PER CAPITA
Vs
National average salary
GDP PER CAPITA
National average salary
Data Source: United Nations (2013)
THE RESULT:
Lack of Affordability
Price to income ratio
27.06 U.k. Average 7.74
Affordability Index
00.57 U.K Average 1.73
Data Source: Numbeo, 2014
2. GOVERNMENTS APPROACH
Increasing Supply of Housing
“the community endorses the recommendation that the Government should adopt a supply-led strategy, continuing to increase housing supply and enhance the role of public housing.”
2014 Policy Address, Para 141
Increasing Supply of Housing
29.7%
17%
52.8%
Public Rental
Subsidised Home Ownership
Private Permanent
Temporary
Population by housing type
(Currently)
Data Source: Information Services Department (2013)
Focusing on Public Housing
“The new target is to provide a total of 470 000 units in the coming ten years, with public housing accounting for 60%. To meet the new housing supply target, the Government aims to provide an average of about 20,000 PRH units and about 8,000 HOS units per year”
2014 Policy Address, Para 142
Def. PRH: Public Rental Housing HOS: Subsidised Home Ownership Housing
Focusing on Public Housing
Ap
pli
ca
nts
on
Wa
itin
g L
ist
114,400
152,500
189,500
228,400
0
50,000
100,000
150,000
200,000
250,000
1 2 3 42009 2011 2012 2014
“Government aim to maintain the current waiting time for public housing (avg. 3 years)"
Data Source: South China Morning Post
Densification
Increasing Permitted Plot Ratios
Except for the north of Hong Kong Island and Kowloon Peninsula, which are more densely populated, the Government considers it feasible to generally increase the maximum domestic plot ratio currently permitted for the other “density zones” in the territory by around 20% as appropriate.
2014 Policy Address, Para 122
Def. Domestic Plot ratio: A measure of site-to-building levels (Chapter 2, Hong Kong Planning Standards and Guidelines)
Densification
Increasing Permitted Plot Ratios
Plot Ratio: 1.5 Plot Ratio: 3 Plot Ratio: 6
Plot Ratio: 5 Plot Ratio: 8
Tai Wo Ping Kowloon Tong Quarry Bay
Hung Hom Ma On Shan Sai Wan Aberdeen Centre
Source: City Planning Consultants Ltd (2005)
Densification
Rezoning and Infill Development
The Plan Departments is conducting a new round of Area Assessments of Industrial Land in the
territory, which focuses on the industrial and commercial sectors’ demand for land and space,
and will rezone for residential use the industrial land near residential areas where industrial
activities have greatly reduced.
2014 Policy Address, Para 134
Increasing Supply of Land
Rezoning and Infill Development
The Government has identified about 80 additional Green Belt sites and Government, Institution or
Community (GIC) sites in various districts with a total area of over 150 hectares with the potential to be
rezoned for residential use.
2014 Policy Address, Para 120
Reducing Market Demand
Tax Introduced
Properties worth below HK $2 million
now incur stamp duty of 1.5%
Properties worth above HK $2 million
now incur stamp duty of 8.5%
Tax Doubled
3. Examples of Housing
The Good
The Bad
Subdivided Housing
171,300
66,900
228,400
Number of people living in
subdivided flats
Number of subdivided flats
Number of applicants on
waiting list of for public housing
The Numbers
Data Source: Wilson Housing Authority
Subdivided Housing
Subdivided Housing
Bathroom
Bathroom
Kitchen
Bathroom
Kitchen
Bathroom
Bathroom
Kitchen
Living Area
Balcony
Staircase
Entrance
Original Apartment Modified Apartment
Apartment 2
Apartment 3
Apartment 4
Apartment 1
Exit to staircase blocked
Nearest exit is to far away from
Apartment 1
Internal walls are unlikely to be
fireproofed
Corridor is too narrow
Bathroom is installed on the
balcony
Subdivided Housing
Hong Kong 45
China 60
United Kingdom 76
Japan 95
Canada 181
USA 201
Subdivided Housing
20m2
Average Housing
Unit Size
Data Source: Wilson (2013)
Subdivided Housing
Subdivided Housing
Subdivided Housing
Caged Homes
“Caged-homes” are categorised as “Bed-space Apartments” by the Hong Kong Government.
The term “Bed-space Apartment” refers to a house
that contains 12 or more people who rent individual bed spaces.
It is legal to run Bed-space Apartments, but property
owners must obtain a special license from the Bedspace Apartment Ordinance.
Caged Homes
Caged Homes
Caged Homes
Caged Homes
Caged Homes
Public Housing
Pu
bl
ic H
ou
sin
g
Lei Cheng UK Estate Tsz Wan Shan Estate Sau Mau Ping (I) Estate
Wah Fu Estate Ma Hang Estate Cheung On Estate
Tak Tin Estate Wo Ming Court Chung Ming Court
Ho
usi
ng
De
pa
rtm
en
t (2
01
4)
Pu
bl
ic H
ou
sin
g
Mark I Mark III Mark V
Twin Tower Harmony Rural Slab
Trident Concord New Cruciform
Ho
usi
ng
De
pa
rtm
en
t (2
01
4)
Pu
bl
ic H
ou
sin
g
Ho
usi
ng
De
pa
rtm
en
t (2
01
4)
33.1
to
39.9
17.0
to
52.5
11.7
to
53.1
21.5
to
65.1
23.1
to
46.5
10.6
to
52.2
11.8
to
55.6
39.0
to
60.0
37.0
to
59.0
Flat Size
(m2)
Public Housing
Data Source: Housing Authority. Google Street view.
Community Space
Access
Arts and
Green Space
Playground
Recreational
Space
Secured Entrance
Private Housing
Price to buy: £1.89 Million (UK Pounds) Price to rent: Unknown Description: 3 x bedroom Type: Semi-detached house Location: Semi-urban Facilities: 24-Hour Security, Clubhouse, Sauna and Jacuzzi, Swimming pool, Golf range, Child playground and pool.
Saleable area
177 Square Metres (m2)
Private Housing
Source: Centadata (2014). Yuen Property Agency (2014).
Price to buy: £777,000 (UK Pounds) Price to rent: £3,700 (UK Pounds) Description: 2 x bedroom Type: Low rise apartment Location: Semi-urban Facilities: 24-Hour Security, Equipped kitchen.
Source: Centadata (2014). Richland Property (2014).
Private Housing
Saleable area
122 Square Metres (m2)
Private Housing
Price to buy: £1.5 Million (UK Pounds) Price to rent: £2,929 (UK Pounds) Description: 3 x bedrooms Type: High-rise apartment Location: Urban Facilities: 24-Hour Security, Clubhouse, Gym, Swimming pool. Equipped kitchen.
Source: Centadata (2014). Squarefoot HK (2014).
Saleable area
125 Square Metres (m2)
Pros: Ability to socialise. Affordability. Cons: Security issues. Lack of space. Hygiene and sanitation standards. Male dominated. Extremely low quality of life. Increased risk of mental illness and other health issues. Lack of facilities. No privacy.
1.
2.
3.
4.
Pros: Affordability. No waiting time. Cons: Safety issues. Lack of space. Hygiene and sanitation standards. Lack of facilities. Inadequate ventilation and associated health problems.
Ranking (In My Opinion)
Pros: Affordability. Amenities. Security. Quality of life. Cons: Affordability. Property size.
Pros: Affordability. Amenities. Security. Cons: Safety issues. Lack of space. Social stigma. Limited supply. Eligibility.
Average Earner
Summary
Government Approach: Increasing housing stock. Increasing public housing to 60% to meet current demand (3 years
and rising) and to address affordability issues. Densification through rezoning, infill development, increasing
plot ratios and greenfield development (where permitted). Cool the private housing market by reducing the demand from
foreign investors (through increasing costs and tax)
Housing Issues: Hong Kong has a limited amount of land. Purchase of land has a high administration costs. Houses prices are high because of a large amount of foreign
investors (from mainland China and beyond) Housing is not affordable to the local population.
Yuen, B., Yeh, A. (2011) High-Rise Living in Asian Cities. Springer Agriculture, Fisheries and Culture Department. (2014) Hong Kong the Facts: Country Parks and Conservation [Online] Available at: http://www.afcd.gov.hk/english/country/cou_lea/the_facts.html (Accessed 27 February 2014) Knight Frank. (2013) Residential Research – Global House Price Index [Online] Available at: http://resources.knightfrank.com/getnewsresource.ashx?id=c802b446-9d21-49ec-b338-0b06ec826d98&type=1 (Accessed 30 February 2014) World Bank (2014) Public Data – GDP Per Capita 1960 to 2012. [Online] Available at: https://www.google.co.uk/publicdata/ Chi-fai, South China Morning Post (2012) The Good, The Bad and The Dirty. [Online] Available at: http://www.scmp.com/article/1005287/good-bad-and-dirty (Accessed: 30 February 2014) Nissim, R. (2011) Land Administration and Practice in Hong Kong. 3rd edn. Hong Kong University Press: Hong Kong.
United Nations (2013) Human Development Report [Online] Available at: http://hdr.undp.org/en/media/HDR_2013_EN_complete.pdf (Accessed: 30 February 2014) Numbeo (2014) Property Price Index by Country [Online] Available at: http://www.numbeo.com/property-investment/rankings_by_country.jsp (Accessed: 02 March 2014) Information Services Department (2013) Population – The Facts [Online] Available at: http://www.gov.hk/en/about/abouthk/factsheets/docs/population.pdf (Accessed: 02 March 2014) http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303661904576452982242744572 South China Morning Post (2014) More Young People Drawn to Public Rental Housing [Online] Available at: http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1395251/more-young-people-drawn-public-rental-housing (Accessed: 28 February 2014)
References