Lee Outlines Housing Goals in Policy Address, Signals Shift to Quality Over Quantity
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Housing remained the top priority in Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu’s second policy address. He announced easing of property cooling measures and other initiatives to increase housing supply.
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The relaxation of property curbs was a compromise between interests of homebuyers who want affordability and investors who want rising prices.
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The author proposes a separate "permanent residents' property market" where residents could trade flats without paying premiums beforehand.
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With supply targets met, focus should shift from quantity to quality of public housing, like increasing living space per capita.
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The policy address showed progress on housing quantity; it's time to adopt a more forward-looking approach focused on housing quality and liveability.