GLOPRAGlobal Property Radar

Hong Kong subsidised housing mortgage cap raised to 95% from 90%

Hong Kong's Housing Authority will raise the mortgage cap on subsidised flats from 90% to 95% for White Form family applicants with newborns.

The facts

  • The Housing Authority's Subsidised Housing Committee approved raising the maximum mortgage loan-to-value ratio for White Form family applicants with newborns from 90% to 95%, in line with that for Green Form applicants.
  • The higher ratio applies starting from the next Home Ownership Scheme (HOS) sale exercise. The release gives no calendar date for that exercise.
  • Eligibility is set on the application form: families with children aged three or below on the form as at the application deadline of the relevant HOS sale exercise benefit from the measure.
  • A second measure shortens the alienation restriction period to 10 years for subsidised sale flats first put up for sale between 2022 and 2025. The release states neither a commencement date for this change nor what the 10 years are counted from.
  • The release does not state the Green Form loan-to-value ratio as a number, so the level the White Form ratio is aligned to cannot be read from it.

What it means for your money

  • Own funds fall from 10% to 5% of value, since the cap moves from 90% to 95%. The measure covers the HOS sale route, not the open market.
  • The release sets no private-market prices. There, Glopra data show 17,514.6 US dollars per square metre and rent of 53.27 US dollars per square metre a month, the entry and income side an investor outside the subsidised route works with.
  • For anyone already holding a subsidised sale flat first put up for sale between 2022 and 2025, the channel is resale and liquidity: the Housing Authority will shorten the restriction to 10 years. With no commencement date and no reference date in the release, the timing cannot be pinned down.

What to watch

  • The announcement of the next HOS sale exercise, which is what fixes when the 95% ratio starts to apply.
  • The commencement date and the reference date for the shortened 10-year restriction on flats first put up for sale between 2022 and 2025.
  • The release says nothing about mortgage guarantee periods or repayment periods.

Sources: Government of Hong Kong https://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/202611/13/P2026111200417.htm

Market data: Hong Kong