Despite property market slump, Hong Kong must increase housing supply
Hong Kong home prices have dropped about 30 per cent from the 2021 peak on the back of a sharp increase in interest rates that has made mortgage payments more expensive and housing less affordable. With home prices
expected to fall further , the question is: should the government stop or slow down its land sales?
Advertisement
The answer is no: to ensure Hong Kong remains a world-class city where people can live comfortably, it should increase its property supply.
Hong Kong's housing remains among the
world's least affordable in terms of the property price-to-income ratio, despite this number dropping from 40 in 2021 to 29 now by our calculations – meaning it takes 29 years of the median income to buy a home on average. This is still far higher than for major cities such as New York (14), Tokyo (16), London (19) and Singapore (23) – though largely in line with other Chinese cities such as Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen (around 30).
Hong Kong's property price-to-income ratio has worsened over the past 70 years. The number has gone from 4-6 in the 1950-1970s and 8-12 in the 1980-1990s to more than 20 since 1997. Many Hongkongers are nostalgic for the days when ordinary folk like teachers could afford to buy private flats.
Hongkongers also have less living space than people in many comparable cities. The average in Hong Kong is
about 172 sq ft , compared to Singapore's 355 sq ft, London's 350 sq ft, Shenzhen's 300 sq ft just across border, Beijing's 360 sq ft, Shanghai's 330 sq ft and New York's 530 sq ft – it's even smaller than the 216 sq ft average in Tokyo, known as one of the world's most crowded cities. Indeed, an estimated 220,000 people in Hong Kong still live in
subdivided flats (including cage homes) with just 40-80 sq ft per person, or even less.
Advertisement
The average living space in Hong Kong has barely improved from 165 sq ft since the handover in 1997. This is in contrast to the steady improvement before that: from the tiny 24 sq ft in the 1950s, to 35 sq ft in the 1960s, 40 sq ft in the 1970s, 50 sq ft in the 1980s and over 150 sq ft in the early 1990s.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
South China Morning Post
an hour ago
- South China Morning Post
China's BYD expands car-carrier fleet to bolster EV exports amid furious domestic competition
BYD , the world's largest electric vehicle (EV) maker, has taken delivery of two new car-carrying ships – the largest yet in a growing fleet – as it bets on export growth to counter brutal competition at home. The Shenzhen-based company took delivery of its sixth carrier, the BYD Changsha, which can transport 9,200 vehicles, on Tuesday, just three days after it received the Xi'an, another vessel with the same capacity. The company's six roll on/roll off vessels had a combined capacity of 45,600 vehicles, and another two ships with a combined capacity of 16,200 cars were due for delivery in coming months, BYD said. The Xi'an was put to work immediately; laden with 7,000 EVs, it set sail on Tuesday from Taicang, in eastern China's Jiangsu province, bound for European countries including Italy, the UK, Spain and Belgium, BYD said. 'The ships reflect BYD's resolve to achieve higher sales in markets outside mainland China, since it can enjoy a higher profit margin abroad,' said Chen Jinzhu, CEO of consultancy Shanghai Mingliang Auto Service. 'With car carriers owned and operated by the company, it can quicken its export pace and save ocean transport costs.' BYD exported 374,200 vehicles in the first five months of 2025, up 112 per cent from a year earlier. Exports accounted for 21.5 per cent of its total deliveries, compared with just 10 per cent in 2024. As its EVs are subject to a 27 per cent tariff in the European Union, BYD's most affordable model, the Dolphin Surf, starts at €22,990 (US$26,679) on the continent. In mainland China, the same model, known as the Seagull, starts at 69,800 yuan (US$9,726), or about 63 per cent less.
RTHK
an hour ago
- RTHK
Xi urges Singapore PM to join fight against hegemony
Xi urges Singapore PM to join fight against hegemony President Xi Jinping hosts Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong at the Great Hall of the People. Photo: China Daily/Reuters President Xi Jinping called on Singapore's prime minister to join the fight against "hegemony" and protectionism in trade as they met in Beijing on Tuesday. Prime Minister Lawrence Wong's first official visit to China lasts until Thursday. He met Xi on Tuesday morning at Beijing's Great Hall of the People, with the president urging their two countries to work to "stand on the right side of history and on the side of fairness and justice", according to CCTV. Xi told Wong that "the world cannot return to hegemony or be dragged back to the law of the jungle", a veiled swipe at the United States, after President Donald Trump launched a barrage of tariffs this year on countries including China and Singapore. Wong, in turn, told Xi he believed the Singapore-China relationship was "more important than before" in a time of "global turbulence and uncertainty". "We can work together to establish closer ties and... continue to strengthen multilateralism and the rules-based global order for the benefit of all countries," Wong said. Xi also noted that this year marks the 35th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries. He said the two sides have consistently upheld mutual understanding and respect, which has provided a solid foundation for the stable and healthy development of bilateral relations. Cooperation between the two countries has aligned with China's development priorities at various stages, yielding substantial outcomes such as the Suzhou Industrial Park, significantly contributing to each country's modernisation efforts, and also setting a benchmark for cooperation among regional nations, Xi added. Wong, who succeeded Lee Hsien Loong, the son of founding premier Lee Kuan Yew, in 2024, has warned the trade-dependent city-state could be hit hard by Trump's tariffs. Although Trump imposed a baseline 10 percent tariff on Singapore, the country is vulnerable to a global economic slowdown caused by the much higher levies on dozens of other countries because of its heavy reliance on international trade. Following his meetings in Beijing, Wong will head to the northern Tianjin for a meeting of the World Economic Forum. (AFP/Xinhua)
South China Morning Post
an hour ago
- South China Morning Post
Xi urges Singapore to join China on ‘right side of history' as he meets with PM Wong
Chinese President Xi Jinping has called for Singapore and China to work together to 'stand on the right side of history' and push for an equal multipolar world, the latest effort by Beijing to present itself as a stabilising force amid escalating geopolitical and trade tensions. Xi made the remarks on Tuesday morning as he met with Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong , who is on a five-day official visit to China. Xi said the two countries – which are marking 35 years of diplomatic relations this year – have upheld mutual understanding and respect, providing a 'solid foundation for the stable and healthy development of China-Singapore relations', state news agency Xinhua reported. '[The two countries] should always view and develop China-Singapore relations from a strategic and long-term perspective to ensure that the course remains steady and momentum remains strong,' he said. China and Singapore should support each other's core interests and major concerns, expand collaboration in areas including the digital economy and artificial intelligence (AI), and 'continue to write a new chapter of high-quality cooperation'. Chinese President Xi Jinping meets with Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Tuesday. Photo: Xinhua The two countries should also expand cultural exchanges and 'embed China-Singapore friendship more deeply in the hearts of the people', he said.
