Chief Executive Fernando Chui Sai On said Wednesday that the price of private property was high which, however, could not just be linked to “some basic factors”.
Chui also said it was a fact that the local property market is currently ruled by emotions, luxury flatsdominate the market, and buyers prefer to invest in property rather than other fields.
He made the remarks during yesterday’s plenary session in the legislature’s hemicycle to answer lawmakers’ questions on his 2014 Policy Address, which he delivered on Tuesday.
During the about three-hour session, complete with a half-hour coffee break, Chui answered 30 lawmakers’ questions about various hot-button issues including housing, labour, tourism, health care, education and legal affairs.
All the legislature’s 33 members attended the session.
Several lawmakers raised questions about the city’s hottest issue – the housing problem.
Directly-elected lawmaker-cum-businessman Chan Meng Kam said that the price of different types of residential flats in the private market had increased 10-fold since 1999.
“Referring to the current situation, the price of property still keeps rising to such a high level that local residents cannot afford to buy any real estate.
“I would like to know whether the government will come up with new measures to control and adjust the property market,” Chan asked.
Responding to Chan’s questions, Chui said that he was aware that citizens were concerned about why the government did not propose any new measures in its 2014 policy blueprint to tackle the property market.
