Hong Kong no long needs application list system

THE government has for the first time in eightyears put a site up for auction on its owninitiative. Yesterday the site (where ValleyRoad Estate was) fetched a high price that exceededall market participants' expectations. The auction resultshows Hong Kong no longer needs the application listsystem. The government should initiate land auctionsfrom time to time in the light of housing demand. Itdoes not matter whether they are regular or irregular.The key word is "initiate". Only if it tries to straightenout supply and demand by controlling land supply willHong Kong's property market develop healthily andsteadily.

It is worth notice that developers are bullish aboutthe market. Sun Hung Kai Properties got the site for$10.9 billion, or 12,539 a square foot. Both figures arerecord highs for Kowloon sites.

When a piece of land goes for a high price, thepublic purse gains most. This year the government canexpect to have considerable revenue from land premia.Judging from the cost of investment, the developer ofthe site must sell flats at $20,000 a square foot at leastbefore it can make a reasonable profit. Such a price isway beyond ordinary Hong Kong salary-earners'

means. It seems clear from certain trends that haveappeared in Hong Kong's property market that thedeveloper will target not only locals but also mainlandbig spenders. Mainlanders are keen on acquiringproperties in Hong Kong. That evidences the SAR'sstrength. Such buyers are welcome. However,mainlanders regard Hong Kong property mainly as aninvestment vehicle. The government should closelymonitor the effects their activities may have on HongKong's property market. As developers have in recentyears focused on the luxury market, mid- andsmall-sized flats are in short supply. The governmentshould promptly find ways to tackle this situation.The government had been possessed with a fearuntil the site was auctioned. It believed that, if itchanged its land policy, property prices would plungewhen the economy turned down. It dreaded beingaccused of causing property prices to collapse. Theauction result should have freed it from this worry. Thehigh price the Ho Man Tin site has fetched showsHong Kong's property market remains largely in such astage that it is necessary to straighten supply anddemand out. The government should control landsupply, ascertain demand and put land for varioustypes of developments up for auction. Only by doing socan it redress the supply-demand imbalance.

Only by doing so can it prevent property pricesfrom roller-coastering. If the government sees that thesupply of every type of housing largely meets thedemand for it, it will not matter much whether itpursues any policy of helping citizens to buy their ownhomes.

Yesterday, after the land auction had ended,REDA (Real Estate Developers Association) vicechairman Stewart Leung criticised the government forits opaque pricing. We think his criticism makes sense.The first bid offered at a land auction used to be thereserve price. Obviously, that has not been the caserecently.

As land auctions are held in public, thegovernment need not have resorted to mysticism. Itshould either regard the first bid as acceptable as itused to do or simply announce an acceptable price inadvance. We do not see it would be unfair to or partialtowards any bidder in any way to increasetransparency by informing all developers of the reserveprice at the same time.

政府主動賣地成功勾地機制可以休矣

8 年來，政府首次主動推出土地拍賣，結果超逾市場預期的上限，何文田前山谷道邨地皮以高價成交。這次賣地成績，說明勾地政策已經無必要繼續存在，政府應該就市民住屋的實際需要，增加主動賣地，在這個前提下，是否定期或不定期賣地，並不重要，關鍵在主動賣地。政府進一步掌握土地供應主導權，理順實際供求關係，才可以使本港樓市走上平穩健康的發展之路。

首先值得注意的是發展商看好後市。土地由新鴻基地產以109 億元投得，平均呎價12,539 元，創下九龍區地價和拍賣呎價的最高紀錄。

賣地高價成交，首先最大得益者是庫房，今年政府土地收入肯定可觀。不過，前山谷道邨土地，以投資成本粗略計算，發展商他日要賣到每方呎2 萬元，才有較合理利潤。這樣的價錢，絕非本港一般受薪階層所能負擔，以近年本港樓市一些趨勢，相信除了本地買家之外，內地大豪客會是發展商瞄準的目標。本港能夠吸引內地人士來港買樓，正是本港優勢的體現，應予歡迎，不過，內地人士來港買樓，出發點主要是投資，他們對本港樓市生態會構成怎樣的影響，值得政府注意。近年發展商側重豪宅市場，中小型樓宇相對顯得供應不足，政府應該早為之謀。

在這次主動賣地之前，政府有一個心魔，深恐一旦調整土地政策，若適逢經濟景氣轉變，導致樓價顯著下跌，則政府就會蒙上推冧樓市的罪名。賣地結果應該可以掃除政府的疑慮。高價成交的結果，顯示本港樓市基調，仍然處於理順供求的階段，政府應該領會到主導土地供應權，掌握實際需求，推出興建各種類型樓宇的土地拍賣，才可以逐步理順樓市，扭轉供求失衡現象。只有這樣，樓市才不會暴升暴跌。設若政府使各類型樓宇供應達致基本平衡，是否有資助市民置業政策，就無關宏旨。

昨日賣地之後，地產建設商會副主席梁志堅批評政府定價欠缺透明度，我們認為有一定道理。以往政府賣地，發展商第一口承價往往就是底價，但是近期政府賣地，顯然並非如此處理。

公開拍賣地皮，政府無必要搞神秘主義，一是恢復以往慣常做法，視第一口價就是可接受價，另外，政府應該乾脆事先公布「可接受價」，增加透明度；讓發展商同時知道底價，我們看不到會影響賣地的公平和公正。明報英語網「雙語社評」

Glossary

bullish /'b ʊlIf/feeling confident and positive.record high If something is a record high, it is the highestever.

turn downWhen an economy turns down, it weakens.