Current status of property market
The property market continues to be sluggish, and many people are afraid to rush into the market. They are especially worried that with the large supply of new projects in the market, developers may sell the same housing estate at a price within a few weeks of entering the market, and disguised buyers may "buy" in a short period of time. "Expensive" or become "negative equity".
Property price adjustment
With property prices having been adjusted for a long time and still not bottoming out, voices of regret for buying properties in recent years are rising and falling on the Internet. Some netizens even threatened that "if you buy a new home ownership house in a falling market, you will have to pay IQ tax." In the past, buying a HOS flat was considered a "guaranteed profit" or "winning the Mark Six Lottery" and thus became an object of "scorn". Is this true?
A unique opportunity for green form residents to purchase HOS flats
In a recent interview with the media, a hairstylist revealed that in 2022, as a green immigrant, he won the opportunity to buy a Home Ownership Scheme (HOS) house in one shot and bought a 293-square-foot house in North Point for NT$2.57 million. The price of the unit in the court is NT$8,657 per square foot. He bought it with a 95% mortgage and only spent NT$130,000 in the down payment. Among the new batch of HOS flats at that time, North Point's Ji Wah Court was the only new HOS flat on Hong Kong Island. It was also one of the few HOS flats on Hong Kong Island. Some units even had sea views of Victoria Harbor and the facilities in the area were complete. Why do I still regret it? Woolen cloth? The reason is that given the current property price situation, he can buy an old building with a larger area and rooms using a green form, and he frankly said that he wants to "take the order."
Picture source: data picture
New HOS properties have high defensive capabilities amid falling market
In addition, he was unexpectedly surprised by the high housing estate management fees. The housing estate management fees are as high as 5.4 yuan per square foot, which is in line with new properties. The monthly management fee is nearly 1,600 yuan; including the 10,000 yuan in housing payment costs, he was shocked. pressure. Of course, he ended up taking over the property, so it wasn't really a deal. Is a new HOS really not worth buying? In fact, during this period of adjustment in the property market, HOS has always been a surprise against the market. Perhaps "benefiting" from the Housing Authority's measures for wealthy households in public housing and other new measures that are beneficial to Home Ownership Scheme housing units, the volume of Home Ownership Scheme housing transactions has not declined. In 2023, 3,262 transactions for which land premium was not paid were recorded. It rose by more than 20% year-on-year, and the figure was the highest in history since 2002. The multiple transactions also help to push up the price of HOS flats. Among them, the top five most expensive housing estates are Kai Long Court in Kai Tak, Kwun Tak Court in Ho Man Tin, Hoi Lok Court in Cheung Sha Wan, Hoi Tak Court in Cheung Sha Wan, The average price per square foot of Sheung Chui Court in Tsuen Wan ranges from 11,660 to 14,267 yuan. The fall in property prices has not put significant pressure on these new HOS estates. Even HOS estates in the New Territories, such as Ping Yan Court in Tin Shui Wai and Tsing Chun Court in Tsing Yi, are still affordable and marketable, which shows the defensive strength of the new HOS estates. It is not low, and it is rare to hear in the market that owners of first-hand HOS flats have suffered losses.
The stability of traditional mortgages in China
On the other hand, since HOS flats are guaranteed by the Housing Authority and the guarantee period is long enough, buyers can still obtain high-value mortgages. Recently, banks have tightened mortgage measures, such as reducing the age limit from 75 to 65 years old, and slow approval resulting in mortgages not being approved on the closing date. Basically, new home buyers will not be affected at all. This kind of "stability" "Sex" is also one of the advantages of HOS. In addition, even if property prices are currently falling, the discounted selling price of Home Ownership Scheme housing is still far from that of the private market. For those who lack financial resources, it is still a low-risk and cheap "getting on the bus" option. If property prices continue to fall in the future, Home Ownership Scheme owners will be "suffering a loss", and the chance seems slim.