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Supply of Private Housing Units

Missed the Government’s Target in the Past 5 Years

Private Residential Supply, from Land Sales / Tender, Commencement,
Pre-sale Consent to Completion
Units
25,000
Supply Target:
20,000 18,000 units

15,000

10,000

5,000

0
2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

Residential land supply* Units with construction work commenced
Units with pre-sale consent approved Units completed

Note: (*) Figures of residential land supply are from the Annual Land Sale Programme.
Sources: Rating and Valuation Department, Buildings Department, Lands Department, Annual Land Sale Programme.

1. OHKF collected property market statistics of the past five years, including residential land supply,
private units with construction work commenced, pre-sale consent approved, and completions.
We found that only residential land supply meets the target of 18,000 unit per year.

2. Private home completion, the most important indicator, registered an average of only 12,000
units per year over the said period, falling short of the supply target by nearly 30%. This stems
from the insu cient amount of land sales in the earlier years. Consequently, housing supply failed
to increase in the midst of soaring housing price in the past five years.

3. It is worth noting that the two leading indicators, the number of private units with construction
work commenced and with pre-sale consent approved, exhibit an upward trend in recent years.
In the past two years (2015 to 2016), number of private units with construction work commenced
has reached an average of 19,500 units per year, 90% higher than the preceding three years (2012
to 2014) of 10,200 units. Therefore, private home completion will likely increase significantly in
the next few years. Yet, even private home supply barely reaches the target in the short term, the
medium to long term outlook of land supply remains grim.

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