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3. The Inequality and

Inequity of Housing

Units

3.1 Equal Yet Unequal

A well-known result from the economics of housing demand is
that households with higher incomes prefer or demand bigger homes
(cf. Richardson, 2013; Becker, 2013; Arnott & McMillen, 2008), and the size of
accommodation is expected to be positively correlated with income.

Figures for the median size of the various housing units are
tabulated in Table 5. There is evidence that the size of PRH units have
grown over time relative to private housing units, but the average size was
still about 60% of private housing for the period from 1980 to 2015.

Table 5. Median size of existing stock of housing units by type, (in square
meters)

Note : (*) Data pertain to 2014.
Sources: Our Hong Kong Foundation, Housing Authority, and Rating and
Valuation Department.

The small size of PRH units relative to other types of housing is
a historical product of Hong Kong’s resettlement housing programme
3
introduced in the 1950s. It initially targeted a limited number of squatters
but quickly mushroomed into a massive PRH programme. Like all
public sector programmes, it provided a uniform standardised product
administered by one set of rules and regulations with limited flexibility, an
approach intended to avoid criticisms of unfairness and corruption.

3 See Appendix I for a more detailed narrative on the history of the resettlement housing programme.

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