01 view
Written by: Commentary Editing Room
2021-01-05 06:40
Last update date: 2021-01-05 06:40
The housing problem in Hong Kong is so severe that it is difficult to find a single house. Many new buildings sell small units in the form of private buildings in order to find a reasonable price.
The local research agency has studied Hong Kong’s data over the past ten years and found that many real estate developers have launched about 8550 nanometer units in the past ten years, all with an area of less than 260 square feet, of which nearly 2,000 units have an area of less than 200 square feet, and the smallest area is only 121 The number of "nano-buildings" completed in the past ten years has also been on the rise. Between 2010 and 2012, there were only 72 units per year on average, and the average number of completions between 2017 and 2019 has increased by 20 times to 1,552 units.
With "nano buildings" flooding the market, even if citizens can buy buildings and "get on the car", it does not mean that there is sufficient living space.
The emergence of "Nano Buildings" is one of the results of distortions in the housing supply in Hong Kong.
It is becoming increasingly difficult for citizens to afford high property prices, which indirectly leads to market demand for "nano-buildings" that are small in size but low in admission fees.
In 2010, units under 260 feet accounted for only 0.2% of the total first-hand units. In 2019, the proportion has risen to 12.9%, which means that nearly one in every eight new units is a "nano building."
Against the background of the slow pace of the government's search for land for many years, it has become the first choice for the sandwich class homeowners who cannot get public subsidized housing for sale and cannot afford traditional private housing estates.
On the ideal home ownership ladder, the positioning of private housing estates should have been to provide citizens who are not satisfied with the living environment of public housing with "upgrade" options.
However, the government failed to deal with the land problem, and the supply of public housing and home ownership flats was insufficient. As a result, this kind of sandwich product constructed by private developers but whose living quality lags behind other private buildings.
The government failed to deal with the land problem, and the supply of public housing and home ownership housing was insufficient. As a result, this kind of sandwich product constructed by private developers but whose living quality lags behind other private buildings.
(Profile picture)
Public and private housing system nanotechnology
On the other hand, the units of private developers have become smaller and smaller, partly due to the disguised encouragement of the Buildings Ordinance.
Developers have exhausted the "exempt floor area" stipulated in the ordinance, and built balconies, working platforms, and glass curtain walls in already small houses to expand the building area, but the practicality of public units has been greatly reduced.
In addition, the Buildings Department released regulations in 1997 and 2011 respectively, which also made it easier for developers to use black toilets and open kitchen designs.
The irony is that the government is not only unable to prevent the emergence of "nano-buildings" in terms of regulations, it has even become a supplier of "nano-buildings."
Take the green homes project launched in the middle of last year as an example. At that time, there were 3,696 units in Chai Wan Tsing Yi Court and Tsing Fu Court in Tsing Yi. Together with a few green homes, nearly 23% of the units had a saleable area of less than 200 In square feet, it can be seen that the authorities have taken the lead in harming people with regard to the "Nano Building" issue.
The developers and the government are surprisingly consistent in their stances on the "nano-buildings", and they reflect the government's thinking of "chasing the number" in housing supply.
The government, however, asked for housing supply to catch up with the numbers. Many plots of land launched between 2011 and 2014 were added with limited clauses to set a lower limit for the number of units on the site.
According to a survey conducted by a local research agency, 15 of the 23 "nano-building" projects have set limits, and nearly 1,500 units have been built under them.
Until December 2014, the reason for the government's removal of the limited clause was not to consider the residential environment of residents. It only stated that "the market will also follow this development direction." Instead, the "nano building" has become the developer and the government. The tacit understanding required is that the former needs to make money while the latter only values numbers.
In the past ten years, about 8550 nanometer units have been launched, all with an area of no more than 260 feet, of which nearly 2,000 units have an area of less than 200 feet, and the smallest area is only 121 feet.
(Profile picture)
Land policy is not limited to feet
At present, government departments do not have a unified standard for what a "nano building" is. The local research agency defined a "nano building" as a unit below 260 feet in a survey. This is also based on the URA's stipulation with the developer after 2014 that the smallest unit is not acceptable. Less than 260 square feet" indicator.
The trend of building smaller and smaller buildings did not start today. The URA was able to add foot-limit clauses to buildings developed in cooperation with developers. The relevant examples are certainly worthy of government reference and promotion.
However, the size limit alone is not enough to solve the housing problem.
Even if the area of newly completed flats becomes larger after the size limit, the price of the unit itself will follow the price per square foot when the land supply remains unchanged. In a disguised form, it only raises the threshold for people to buy a home, and on the contrary, the "Nano Disk" with a lower entrance fee It will also become scarce in the market.
If the government pushes the size limit and lacks other supporting facilities, it will also make it more difficult for other residents with worse living conditions to meet their housing needs in the short term.
The government needs to take a multi-pronged approach. First, take the lead in correcting the mistakes made by the government in building "nano-buildings" in the past, increase the average area of public housing and HOS housing in the future, and introduce rent control measures so that local residents who cannot afford to buy a home can also afford it. A reasonable living environment. In the future, governments should also review the current Building Ordinance and add restrictions on the design of open kitchens, toilets, terraces, and working platforms.
Through the above measures in conjunction with the foot-limit policy, I believe it will be possible to prevent the emergence of "nano-buildings" in the future and truly improve the living environment of Hong Kong citizens.
Developers really don’t want to build “nano-buildings”, the government must become promising
[Nostalgic public housing] Living in a "container house"?
Forcing the "Nano Tower"?
"Middle class public housing" thirsty market
[Nano House.
Viewpoint] Is the real market demand for more and more detailed units?
01 depth
Nano House 01 View Housing Policy
