Housing in Hong Kong

29.1% of the Hong Kong population lives in public rental housing estates. Kin Ming Estate, completed in 2003, is a public housing estate located in Tseung Kwan O. It consists of 10 housing blocks housing about 22,000 people.
Private housing estates are a common form of private permanent housing. Hong Kong Parkview, located at Wong Nai Chung Gap is among the ones at the top of the market.
Traditional housing can be found in the New Territories. Some villages have been occupied for over 200 years. Here, the entrance gate of Nam Pin Wai, a walled village in Yuen Long Kau Hui.

Housing in Hong Kong varies by location and income. More than 7 million people live on about 1,108 km² (427 mi²) of land in the region.

Housing statistics

According to the 2007 census,[1] the total Hong Kong population was 6.6 million. The breakdown by type of housing was as follows:

Public rental housing: 31.0% (As of September 2014, the percentage is 28% from Housing Authority[2] and as of June 2015 the percentage is 1.11% from Housing society[3] )
Housing Authority subsidized sale flats: 17.1
Housing Society subsidized sale flats: 0.7%
Private permanent housing: 49.3%
Temporary housing: 0.7%
Non-domestic housing: 1.2%

Subsidized sale flats listed here are not tradeable in the open market.

In 2009, 52.3% of the 2.3 million domestic households were owner-occupiers.[4]

In 2004/2005, housing expenditures were accounting for an average of 30.6% of the average monthly household expenditures, with utilities accounting for an additional 3.4%.[5]

Urban settlements on Hong Kong Island, Kowloon and some former market towns in the New Territories were mostly developed during the 19th and 20th centuries. Tong-laus, the local form of shophouses, built mostly in the first half of the 20th century, are witnesses of this development.

Public housing

Public housing is a major component of the housing in Hong Kong. About half of Hong Kong residents now live in public housing estates (Chinese: 公共屋邨) and other tower blocks with some form of subsidy. The history of public housing in Hong Kong can be traced back to 1953, when a fire in Shek Kip Mei destroyed the shanty homes of approximately 53,000 people. In response the Hong Kong Government commenced a programme of mass public housing, providing affordable homes for those on low incomes.[6]

Several subsidized home ownership programs have been implemented, including: Home Ownership Scheme, Flat-for-Sale Scheme, Tenants Purchase Scheme, Sandwich Class Housing Scheme and Private Sector Participation Scheme.

Segmentation

In the high-end market, the Peak is ranked the 3rd most expensive city in the world in 2007 with a square foot per unit pricing of US $2,008 behind London and Monaco[7]

Hong Kong's home prices also top the list of least affordable markets among major world cities according to American research institution Demographia's latest report in January 2015.The Demographia International Housing Affordability Survey 2015 includes 378 property markets around the globe, generating Median Multiples according to the proportion of average property price to median household income. Results are categorized into 4 levels: Affordable (Below 3 times), Moderately Unaffordable (3.1 to 4 times), Seriously Unaffordable (4.1 to 5 times) and Severely Unaffordable (5.1 times and over). Hong Kong falls into the grading of ‘Severely Unaffordable’, with the highest recorded index of 17.0 since the report commenced 11 years ago. Second on the list was Vancouver with an index of 10.6, still significantly lower than HK.[8]

Housing estates

Traditional and historical housing

See also

Pang uk are stilt houses found in Tai O.
  1. ↑ Census and Statistics Department - Population by type of housing (archive)
  2. ↑ "Hong Kong Housing Authority CORPORATE PROFILE" (PDF).
  3. ↑ "HKHS Website".
  4. ↑ Census and Statistics Department - Statistics on Domestic Households (archive)
  5. ↑ Census and Statistics Department - Household Expenditure Survey (archive)
  6. ↑ Choi, Barry (30 June 1975). "Housing means more than a roof" (PDF). South China Morning Post. Retrieved 7 February 2007.
  7. ↑ ABC News. "ABC News Go." "Hong Kong's Real Estate is World's Peak." Retrieved on 2007-04-06.
  8. ↑ http://www.okay.com/en/property-news/Hong-Kongs-residential-property-prices-graded-as-Worlds-Most-Severely-Unaffordable-/276?nid=38
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