Selling price and sales arrangements for Green Form Subsidised Home Ownership Pilot Scheme endorsed
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The Hong Kong Housing Authority (HA)'s Subsidised Housing Committee (SHC) today (September 12) endorsed the average selling price and sales arrangements for the Green Form Subsidised Home Ownership Pilot Scheme (GSH) at San Po Kong - King Tai Court.
Located at the southern part of the ex-San Po Kong Flatted Factory site at Prince Edward Road East, King Tai Court will provide 857 flats, with saleable areas ranging from about 17.8 square metres to about 45.9 square metres (see table). By applying a discount of 40 per cent from the assessed market values, the average selling price is $60,900 per square metre (or $5,658 per square feet) of saleable area. Selling prices of the flats range from $940,000 to $2,980,000.
The discount to be offered to applicants is based on two guiding principles - the affordability of target applicants and that the selling price should not be lower than the project cost.
"In assessing the affordability of target applicants, the benchmark is that for at least 50 per cent of the flats for sale, a mortgage-to-income ratio of not more than 40 per cent can be achieved. In calculating the mortgage-to-income ratio, a loan repayment period of 20 years; a mortgage loan-to-price ratio of 95 per cent; and a household income at the eligibility limit for applying public rental housing (PRH) for a four-person household are assumed," a spokesman for the HA said.
"GSH is only for sale to Green Form (GF) applicants to help them achieve home ownership, while releasing more PRH flats for allocation to those on the waiting list for PRH. PRH tenants allocated flats through the Express Flat Allocation Scheme are not eligible to apply for the sale of GSH flats within three years from the date of tenancy commencement of their PRH units. Owners of Tenants Purchase Scheme flats are also not eligible to apply," the spokesman said.
Following the established principle, the order of priority for flat selection will be (1) families applying under the Priority Scheme for Families with Elderly Members; (2) Other families and (3) One-person applicants. The SHC decided to set a quota of 400 flats for applicants applying under the Priority Scheme for Families with Elderly Members, and to set aside 100 flats for one-person applicants so as to strike a balance among the needs of various categories of applicants.
The HA will provide a defects liability period of one year and a structural safety guarantee of 10 years for GSH flats.
The tentative timing for commencement of application and ballot will be October and December this year respectively, and the commencement of flat selection will be January next year.
"Before the launch of sale, hard copies of the sales booklet, application forms and application guides will be available for public collection at the Housing Authority Customer Service Centre (HACSC)," the spokesman added. These documents can also be obtained during office hours in the estate offices and District Tenancy Management Offices of the HA, estate offices of the Hong Kong Housing Society, Public Enquiry Service Centres of the Home Affairs Department and at the Sham Shui Po Housing Information Centre. In addition, a soft copy of the sales booklet will be uploaded to the designated website while soft copies of the application form and application guide will be available for viewing and downloading from the HA/Housing Department's website.
"Before the commencement of flat selection, hard copies of the sales brochure covering full details of the development and the price list will be made available for public collection at the HACSC. Soft copies of these documents will be uploaded to the designated website. We will no longer mail the sales brochure and the price list to the applicants on top of the above arrangements. A one-off application fee of $200 will be charged for the sale exercise," the spokesman said.
On resale restrictions, within the first five years from the date of the first deed of assignment of the GSH flat from the HA to a flat owner (date of first assignment), the flat owner has to offer to sell his/her flat to the HA. Under existing policy, the HA will not buy back the flat, but will exercise the power under the Housing Ordinance to nominate a buyer. The flat owner has to identify through his/her own means an eligible GF buyer who will apply to the HA for nomination. If the HA does not receive any application for nomination six months after the date of offer from the flat owner; or if after nomination is made no assignment is executed within four months, whichever is the later, the GSH flat owner may sell the flat in the open market after payment of a premium to the HA.
Between the third and fifth year from the date of first assignment, a GSH flat owner may also sell his/her flat in the Home Ownership Scheme (HOS) Secondary Market to a GF buyer nominated by the HA without payment of a premium and at his/her own negotiated price.
After five years from the date of first assignment, the GSH flat owner may either (i) sell the flat in the HOS Secondary Market to a person nominated by the HA without payment of a premium and at his/her own negotiated price; or (ii) sell the flat on the open market after payment of a premium.
Ends/Monday, September 12, 2016
Issued at HKT 19:16
Issued at HKT 19:16
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