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In response to media enquiries, a spokesman for the Housing Department said today (July 12) that application for the Certificate of Eligibility to Purchase (CEP) for the first batch of 2 500 successful applicants under the Scheme of Extending the Home Ownership Scheme (HOS) Secondary Market to White Form Buyers closed today. According to the preliminary counting, a total of 2 497 applications for the CEP have been received and 1 825 CEPs have been issued so far.
Holders of the CEP can seek to purchase a flat with premium not yet paid on the Hong Kong Housing Authority (HA)'s HOS Secondary Market or the Hong Kong Housing Society (HS)'s Flat-for-Sale Scheme Secondary Market. To complete the transaction, they are required to apply to the HA or the HS for a Letter of Nomination (LN) after they have entered into the Provisional Agreement for Sale and Purchase. The two organisations have received 428 applications for LNs and issued 254 LNs so far. Details of the figures are shown in the attached table.
"The CEP is valid for six months and holders can apply for a one-off renewal for another six months before its expiry," the spokesman said.
"Whether the CEP holders can successfully purchase a flat depends on a lot of factors, including whether there are flats available for sale in their desirable locations," he added.
The HA will issue Approval Letters to the remaining 2 500 successful applicants of the Scheme by late December for them to apply for the CEP.
Ends/Friday, July 12, 2013
Issued at HKT 18:41
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