If the government continues to sell when the demand is for more rentals instead, then it will be unnecessarily driving down property prices. After all, foreign business has long complained that high property prices put Hong Kong at a disadvantage compared to other Asian cities. I'm sure if consumer confidence were high and wages were going up, then demand would come back. In Hong Kong, 1.2 million households own their own housing. That explains why consumer spending is weak.
People feel that their net worth is poorer.
The Hong Kong goverment is the world's biggest property developer, with half of the city's 7 million people living in government flats. They say if they leave it to the developers, there could be a shortage in a particular year. And they're worried that if they leave it to the developers, then we may just hold the land and do nothing. Then there would be an artificial shortage. The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. All rights reserved.