Public Housing

9.     To have a comfortable home and a good job is not only the aspiration of our people.  It is also the Government's vision.  We have always been committed to meeting housing needs of the people.  As early as 1954, we launched the first public housing construction programme for over 50 000 Shek Kip Mei residents rendered homeless in a fire.

10.     Apart from PRH, the Government put in place the Home Ownership Scheme (HOS) and other subsidised home ownership initiatives.  These schemes enabled PRH tenants to purchase their own homes so their units could be vacated for other people in need.  Such schemes also helped other home seekers acquire their properties.

Private Market

11.     The private market plays a major role in offering a wide range of options to meet the people's housing needs.  In the late 1990s, our economy was hard hit by the Asian financial crisis and the collapse of the hi-tech bubble.  Persistent deflation also exerted great pressure on the local property market.  As a result, overall property prices dropped by more than 60%, and many properties slipped into negative equity.  In 2002, after a housing policy review, the Government decided to withdraw from the property market progressively.  The Housing Authority subsequently stopped the construction of HOS flats and other subsidised home ownership schemes.

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