9,000 vacant cargoes in the new inventory will be announced soon

Hong Kong property prices are high and there is no room for housing. But in reality, Hong Kong has a large number of vacant homes. At the Legislative Council yesterday, the Financial Secretary Chen Mao-po quoted data saying that from the end of December last year to the end of March this year, about 9,000 prime-property units had been built in Hong Kong, and it was revealed that the research on the vacant taxes against the first-hand building had come to an end. The government will announce it as soon as possible.

According to government figures, overall property prices rose by 7% from December last year to April this year. The overall property price in April this year was 117% higher than the 1997 peak. The continuous rise in property prices is highly unattainable. According to the statistics of the quantity of new shipments surpassed by the Transport Bureau, it has been on an upward trend in recent years and has now reached 9,000. According to Chen Maobo, “Compared to the new supply target of 18,000 gangs each year, the vacant number is so large that it will affect the effective supply of real estate.” However, he also pointed out that there is no intention to cover the secondary market and the study will announce the decision as soon as possible.

The Hong Kong government is hard to “get on the heart”

As early as 2013, Leung Chun-ying, the then Chief Executive, once stated that if developers were contributing to the price of the public and affected the housing needs of the public, they did not rule out the introduction of vacant building tax. Since then, many experts and scholars have questioned its feasibility. The Chief Executive, Mrs Carrie Lam, said in a speech to the Legislative Council last month: “In the event of a severe shortage of housing units, all houses that can be used for housing should be used for housing instead of hoarding or frying.” At present, studies are being conducted to levy a vacant tax on first-hand residential units, but the relevant reasons, feasibility and public response will be comprehensively assessed and a final decision will be made. However, she indicated that she would not consider the introduction of a capital gains tax, nor did she agree to the use of the Land Resumption Ordinance to expropriate land from developers. Chen Maobo reiterated this point yesterday, indicating that he had no intention to implement a capital gains tax.

It is an indisputable fact that property prices in Hong Kong are higher. Chen Maobo also admitted that. He said that the government has assessed the impact of the US interest rate hike on the property market in Hong Kong. It is “very serious” about the hot housing market and people’s difficulties in going upstairs and is currently working on the “Large Land Debate”. He also reminded the public to measure the risks arising from the rise in interest rates in Hong Kong before setting home.

Strictly fighting the hoarding of speculation around the world

In fact, looking around the world, foreign levying of vacant taxes is quite common. The government has used property owners to increase the cost of holding vacant properties, and has cracked down on the property owners’ hoarding units to push up property prices. If a French house is vacant for more than one year, it will levy a 10% tax on the property price. It will be vacant for 12.5% ​​for two years and 15% for three years. The Dutch government has the right to remove long-term vacant homes. If a home is left vacant for a long time, it allows other people to check in. If the landlord wants to recapture, it must prove that the vacant time of the house has not exceeded 12 months. In Vancouver, it is necessary to declare whether the vacant house is vacant, and vacant for 6 months to pay 1% of the value of the property. The falsified owner will face a severe penalty of 10,000 Canadian dollars per day.

For the Hong Kong Government is studying whether to introduce new vacant tax, the workshop is also hot. Luo Xurui, chairman of Regal International (078), believes that Hong Kong is not well-suited to introduce a vacant tax because most developers want to sell the property as soon as possible. However, it takes a long time for the mansion to go to the store and cannot force the developer to sell the house at a specific time.

The Deputy Chairman of Wheelock Real Estate (020) and Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Real Estate Developers Association, Leung Chi Kin, pointed out that no hoarding units have become a market trend. They believe that the government quoted figures do not reflect the actual situation. Actually, vacant units or only about 3,000 vacant units Since many of these units involved waiting for the completion of the handover or obtaining satisfactory papers, the Government should not rely solely on the developer’s obtaining occupation permits to judge that the units are vacant.