New Flat Construction Slumps Ahead Of Vacancy Tax

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2019-01-25 HKT 13:53

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  Officials still expect 93,000 private flats to be made available in the coming three to four years. File photo: RTHK

New government figures show developers started work on just 2,000 flats during the last quarter of 2018 – down 74 percent year-on-year.

Analysts say developers are taking a cautious approach, with property prices coming down over the past few months, and in light of government plans to impose a vacancy tax on unsold flats.

But despite the slowdown in the final quarter, the number of flats started for the whole of last year was up 8 percent, at 18,400.

The government's estimate of the total number of flats to be made available in the coming three to four years remains unchanged at 93,000.