2,500 new flats to be up for pre-sale in 2014

The flats at about 400-500 square feet will be built at six sites.

In a release, the new Home Ownership Scheme announced in the Policy Address yesterday aims to help more sandwich-class families afford to buy a flat of their own, Secretary for Transport & Housing Eva Cheng says.

In a briefing to provide details on the scheme and other property measures, Ms Cheng said the new HOS flats will be priced at an affordable level.

“Our idea is that if the applicant pays 10% of the price as a down payment, and pays a monthly mortgage over 20 years, it will not be more than 40% of monthly income,” she said.

“This is the desirable way forward. We listened to a wide variety of views before developing this improved HOS.”

The first 2,500 flats under the scheme are expected to be ready for pre-sale in 2014 or 2015.

These ‘no-frills’ flats, sized at about 400 or 500 square feet, will be built at six sites Ms Cheng identified today. They include a former industrial building in Tai Wo Hau that is being demolished, three sites in Sha Tin including one in Hin Tin and two on either side of the Shing Mun River, a Yuen Long site in Tung Tau, near an industrial area, and a former school site in Kwai Ching.

All the sites are zoned as residential, she said, and the bureau has liased with relevant departments to telescope the planning and design process.