The Housing Authority Finance Subcommittee today (5th) deliberated on the budget for this year and the financial situation for the next four years.
According to the latest financial forecast of the Housing Authority, the financial reserves of the Housing Authority will be slightly reduced from about $58.9 billion in early April 2022 to about $49.7 billion by the end of March 2027.
The Housing Authority pointed out that due to the impact of the fifth wave of the epidemic, construction materials failed to arrive in Hong Kong, and the construction expenditure this year was lower than expected, but it needs to be added to the account in 2023/24, a substantial increase of 61% year-on-year to 28.4 billion yuan.
In the 5 years starting from this year, the construction cost of a total of 94,000 units will reach 147.2 billion yuan, but the next 5-year period will increase with the supply of public housing. It is expected that the annual construction cost will be between 17.6 billion yuan and 28.4 billion yuan compared with the current forecast Yuan, will more than double.
The HA Finance Subcommittee reviews the budget for this year and the financial situation for the next four years.
(File photo/photo by Zheng Zifeng)
The Housing Authority stated that the forecasted cash and investment balance will drop from about 58.9 billion yuan at the beginning of April 2022 to about 49.7 billion yuan at the end of March 2027, and it is expected that construction costs will increase in the next five fiscal years, but it will be subsidized by housing sales Income and investment income are offset, emphasizing that there are sufficient funds to meet the budget for the next five years.
The consolidated account surplus for 2022/23 is revised to $5.73 billion, and the forecasted surplus for 2023/24 is $19 billion.
According to the Housing Authority's forecast last year, the fiscal reserve by the end of March 2026 was about $57.7 billion, while this forecast is about $8 billion less.
This year's housing construction expenditure forecast only takes into account the 94,000 units up to 26/27, and does not take into account Chief Executive Lee Ka-chao's first "Policy Address" and the latest long-term housing strategy report.
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The Housing Authority stated that the construction expenditure in 22/23 was 17.6 billion yuan, which is less than the 20.3 billion yuan forecast last year. The Housing Authority stated that due to the impact of the fifth wave of the epidemic, construction materials failed to arrive in Hong Kong, and construction expenditures decreased. Therefore, it is estimated that it will be added to the account this year. It is estimated that the construction expenditure in 2023/24 will reach 28.4 billion yuan, an increase of 61% year-on-year.
As for the estimated total construction expenditure in five years (22/23 to 2026/27), it is estimated to reach 147.2 billion yuan, and a total of 94,000 public housing units will be built.
The Housing Authority stated that due to the large increase in housing construction in the future, the cost of construction expenditure will increase, of which it will reach 40.6 billion in 2026/27, an increase of 131% compared with the current level.
At present, the Government has set aside $82.4 billion in fiscal reserves for public housing development and related infrastructure.
In the next five-year period, with the substantial increase in public housing supply, it is expected that the construction cost will more than double the current forecast of between RMB 17.6 billion and RMB 28.4 billion.
In terms of subsidized housing, the surplus in 2022/23 is 4.213 billion yuan, a decrease of 2.021 billion yuan compared with last year's forecast of 6.234 billion yuan. The estimated surplus in 23/24 is 14.97 billion yuan. fall, and increase with the handover.
In terms of public rental housing, the Housing Authority's surplus in 2022/23 will be 639 million yuan, an increase of 446 million yuan from last year's forecasted surplus of 193 million yuan. The Housing Authority explained that due to the fact that some job vacancies have not been filled, salary expenses have often decreased.
The Housing Authority also predicts that it will be in deficit for the next three fiscal years and will increase year by year. Management and operating expenses will increase with the increase in account opening and new public housing occupancy, and it is assumed that the rent will remain unchanged.
The Housing Authority expects that although there will be a deficit in public rental housing, it will be offset by income from commercial buildings and subsidized housing. Therefore, it is expected that future operating projects will have a surplus.
As for the accounts of commercial buildings, the surplus in 22/23 was 590 million yuan, which was 729 million yuan less than last year's forecast of 1.319 billion yuan. Rent reduction.
In 23/24, it is expected that there will be a surplus of 1.29 billion yuan. This is due to the fact that the relevant rental concessions will no longer be provided from July 1 this year, and additional income will be brought in due to the opening of new commercial buildings.
HOS 2020｜Survey reveals that 1% of buyers "Full Pay" to buy a property, nearly 20% of white form rely on father to get in the car, more than 30% of public housing applications are subdivided housing households, nearly 20% become new immigrants, single income low poverty line 12% as of 6 A total of 144,000 public housing applications per month, 48% have been waiting for more than 3 years, 64% of households have waited for more than 6 years, HOS 2022｜On sale for one month, Wangji Huayuan has been sold out, and Anxiuyuan has only sold 10% of the units. 2022｜The lottery is released and the applicants are still in the fifth lottery.
