Selling prices and income and asset limits approved for Phase 3 surplus HOS flats
********************************************************

The following is issued on behalf of the Housing Authority:

    The Housing Authority's (HA) Subsidised Housing Committee (SHC) today (January 31) approved the average selling prices for 3,052 surplus Home Ownership Scheme (HOS) flats to be put for sale next month (February) under Phase 3.

    Phase 3 comprises 2,397 unsold flats (576 flats in Stage 1 of Tung Tao Court, Shau Kei Wan; 1,213 flats in Lei On Court, Lam Tin, and 608 flats in Kam Fung Court, Ma On Shan) and 655 returned flats scattered in various HOS courts.

    :The sale price of the surplus HOS flats is set with reference to the approved pricing guiding principles which take into account the affordability of eligible buyers,; Chairman of SHC, Professor Anthony Cheung Bing-leung said.

    After applying a discount of 30% to the assessed market values, the average prices for Stage I of Tung Tao Court, Lei On Court and Kam Fung Court range between $39,700 and $28,000 per square metre of saleable area (SA) (or $2,730 and $1,930 per square foot of gross floor area (GFA)). Please see table 1 for details.

    For the returned flats scattered in various HOS courts, their selling prices, also based on a price discount of 30% to the assessed market values, range from the lowest of over $440,000 in Hin Ming Court, Tseung Kwan O to the highest of more than $2,400,000 in Tung Yuk Court, Shau Kei Wan. Average prices for the courts with larger numbers of returned flats are highlighted in table 2.

    :The average selling prices as approved by SHC today are reasonable. In arriving at the assessed market values of the flats, apart from making reference to the market trend, due regard has been given to the fact that the surplus HOS flats have been completed for some time, and that the returned flats have been occupied before, as well as various characteristics of the concerned courts such as location, transportation and views,; Professor Cheung said.

    Other sales related arrangements endorsed at the meeting included maintaining the existing quota allocation between Green Form (GF) and White Form (WF) applicants at 80:20, with any unfilled GF quota being passed to WF applicants or vice versa. Family households will continue to be given the priority to select flats before one-person households.

    Applications for the purchase of the surplus HOS flats under Phase 3 will be invited from next month. Selection of flats by successful applicants is expected to begin in April. Further details for the application will be announced next month.

    Both unfurnished and moderately decorated show flats will be made available in Tung Tao Court, Lei On Court and Kam Fung Court for viewing by prospective purchasers during application and flat selection periods.

    For the scattered returned flats, which will be sold on an 'as-is' basis, the HA will upload photos showing the internal conditions of individual flats onto the HA web site for prospective purchasers・ reference at the application stage.

    After balloting, applicants will be allowed to view some designated returned flats by appointment in the three courts with a larger number of scattered returned flats - Lai Yan Court, Charming Garden and Ning Fung Court. Prior to the signing of the sale and purchase agreement, applicants may view the particular returned flat they have selected.

    For the unsold flats, the HA will carry out pre-sale defects rectification and maintenance works before handing over to purchasers. A one-year defects liability period from the date of assignment of individual flats will also be provided.

    For the returned flats, general checking of building services and cleansing works will be carried out before handing over to purchasers. However, defects liability period will not be provided as they are to be sold on an .as-is・ basis.

    In addition to the 3,052 flats of the HA, The Hong Kong Housing Society intends to put up 579 flats in Kingston Terrace, Tuen Mun and three resale flats in Verbena Heights, Tseung Kwan O for sale to GF and WF applicants at the same time. 

    The SHC today also approved the income and asset limits for WF applicants for the surplus HOS flats based on an established mechanism that takes into account the overall household expenditure in an expenditure-based approach. 

    The income limit for family applicants will be lifted from $22,000 to $23,000 per month and the asset limit from $610,000 to $660,000. In line with the previous practice, the income and asset limits for one-person applicants will be set at half of  those for family applicants, with the exception of one-person elderly households where the higher Waiting List asset limit of $352,000 will be adopted.

    GF applicants, or sitting PRH tenants or GF Certificate holders on the Waiting List, will not be subject to any means test.

The following are details of the HOS Income and Asset Limits for WF applicants for 2008:

Household Size  Monthly Income Limit  Asset Limit
                        ($)              ($)
1 persoon            11,500 (12,105)    330,000*
2 persons            23,000 (24,211)    660,000**
or above***

* For one-person elderly households, the higher asset limit of $352,000 will be adopted.
** For four-person elderly households (both nuclear and non-nuclear households comprising solely elderly members), the higher Waiting List asset limit of $724,000 will be adopted.
*** The corresponding Waiting List income and/or asset limits would apply if they are higher than the prevailing HOS limits.

    Figures in bracket denote the effective income limits should a household be contributing 5% of its income under the Mandatory Provident Fund Scheme as required by the law.

Ends/Thursday, January 31, 2008
Issued at HKT 19:18

NNNN