1

Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education

Liberal Studies

Independent Enquiry Study Report

Standard Covering Page (for written reports and short written texts

of non-written reports)

Enquiry Question: The reasons of the difficulties faced by post 80’s in Hong Kong

when purchasing flat and should the government set up policy

for helping them to purchase flat?

Year of Examination:

Name of Student:

Class/ Group:

Class Number:

Number of words in the report: 3569

Notes:

1. Written reports should not exceed 4500 words. The reading time for non-written reports should

not exceed 22 minutes and the short written texts accompanying non-written reports should not

exceed 1100 words. The word count for written reports and the short written texts does not

include the covering page, the table of contents, titles, graphs, tables, captions and headings of

photos, punctuation marks, footnotes, endnotes, references, bibliography and appendices.

2. Candidates are responsible for counting the number of words in their reports and the short

written texts and indicating it accurately on this covering page.

3. If the Independent Enquiry Study Report of a student is selected for review by the School-Based

Assessment System, the school should ensure that the student’s name, class/ group and class

number have been deleted from the report before submitting it to the Hong Kong Examinations

and Assessment Authority. Schools should also ensure that the identities of both the schools

and students are not disclosed in the reports. For non-written reports, the identities of the

students and schools, including the appearance of the students, should be deleted.

Sample

2

Table of Contents

A. Problem Definition P.3-4

B. Relevant Concepts and Knowledge/Facts/Data P.5-8

C. In-depth Explanation of the Issue P.9-11

D. Judgment and Justification P.12-18

Bibliography / Reference P.19-21

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A. Problem Definition

Theme of Study

The general impressive of housing problems in Hong Kong are such as soaring property

prices, insufficient regulation of the property market and land supply shortages. Recently,

the difficulties faced by post 80’s when purchasing flat have aroused discussion in the

society and affected social harmony due to their dissatisfaction. The Policy Address in 2013

also claimed that as high housing prices and rents affecting young couples’ plans to marry

and start a family. This undermines family harmony and can cause potential safety and

health hazards.1 Why are they complaining towards the high property prices? What are

their problems faced in Hong Kong nowadays? Why the government cannot help them to

overcome this issue? These raise my interest in investigating on this title.

Objective of Study

The objectives of the study are to find out

What are the causes of the difficulties faced by post 80’s in Hong Kong when

purchasing flat?

Should the government set up policy for helping the post 80’s to purchase flat in Hong

Kong?

Scope of Study

The scope of study is focus on post-80s situation in buying flat in Hong Kong. The

post-80s generation refers those who were born in or after 19802, this means they are

roughly aged around 30.

Background Information

After the hit by Asian financial crisis in 1998 and outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory

Syndrome (SARS) in 2003, the economy of Hong Kong recovered and grew rapidly since

2004. In addition to the speculation by both Hong Kong people and Mainlanders recent

year, the property prices rocketed to a history high level broke the record in 1997, and the

prices were expected to rise further according to data in April 20123.

Facing the sky-high property prices, although the post-80s with better educational

1 Policy Address 2013. http://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201301/16/P201301160282.htm

2 HKUST. Hong Kong ‘s Post-80s Generation : Profiles and Predicaments. May 2010. Retrieved from

http://www.cpu.gov.hk/doc/en/research_reports/HK's%20Post%2080s%20Generation%20-%20Profiles

%20and%20Predicaments.pdf 3 Wenweipo,香港樓價創 1997 年後新高, 6/4/2012 . Retrieved from

http://news.wenweipo.com/2012/04/06/IN1204060053.htm

4

opportunities and jobs and they plan to get marry, they are the one who suffered most as

they have immediate need to own a flat and form their own families. Their voices are

expressed through different channels like TV, radios and sit-in etc. which successfully

aroused public attention towards their situation.

Although lots of measures are introduced by the Hong Kong government, aiming to help

middle-class to purchase their own flats, these measures including HOS, HALS, SCHS and

MHPP etc., by May 2012, there were still nearly 70% of young people feel pressure on

their ability on purchasing flats4. This indicated that the measures adopted by the

government may not be effective enough in helping post-80s to purchase flat.

4 HKET, 7 成青年憂財政 多涉置業難, 14/5/2012. Retrieved from

http://hk.news.yahoo.com/7%E6%88%90%E9%9D%92%E5%B9%B4%E6%86%82%E8%B2%A1%

E6%94%BF-%E5%A4%9A%E6%B6%89%E7%BD%AE%E6%A5%AD%E9%9B%A3-224848702.h

tml

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B. Relevant Concepts and Knowledge/Facts/Data

Post 80s situation in Hong Kong

The term generally refers to the generation were born between 1980 and 19895. They have

the features that enjoyed more educational opportunities since the expansion of higher

education in 1990s. But the higher education does not imply more employment

opportunities. The unemployment rates have been increasing in the past decade for the post

80s. Besides, they seldom have chances obtaining the managerial or professional level of

job than before. Instead, they mainly serve as associate professional and clerical jobs, sales

and service jobs. Their earnings have been declining over time as compare with the general

working population.6Therefore, due to higher unemployment rates, lower starting salaries

and insecure jobs lead to many young people in disadvantaged position and more

dissatisfaction in the society.

Housing supply in Hong Kong7

At the end of 2012, there were about 2,613,500 flats in Hong Kong, comprising about

766,300 public rental housing (PRH) flats, 1, 390,600 subsidised sale flats and 1,456,600

private sector flats. About 30 % of Hong Kong’s population live in public rental housing

flats, and another 17 % live in subsidised sale flats. In other words, nearly half of the

population requires the housing supply in HK provided by the government. And the

government still takes an important role to plan and provide housing supply.

The whole year in 2011-12, there were about 21,300 residential units completed, of which

about 10,100 were private housing flats (excluding village houses) and around 11,200

public housing flats of the Hong Kong Housing Authority (HKHA). For the waiting time of

public rental housing, the average waiting time was about 2.7 years for general applicants.

But the general public still think that the demand is highly excess than the supply in the

property market.

Government’s policy objectives

The government hopes to maintain the healthy and stable development of the private

property market in Hong Kong.8 At the same time, the government also have the aims

9 in:

assist grassroots families to secure public rental housing to meet their basic

housing needs;

5 Data from : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Post-80s

6 HKUST. Hong Kong ‘s Post-80s Generation : Profiles and Predicaments. May 2010. Retrieved from

http://www.cpu.gov.hk/doc/en/research_reports/HK's%20Post%2080s%20Generation%20-%20Profiles

%20and%20Predicaments.pdf 7 Policy Address 2012. http://www.yearbook.gov.hk/2012/en/pdf/E11.pdf

8 Hong Kong Yearbook 2012. http://www.yearbook.gov.hk/2012/en/pdf/E11.pdf

9 Transport and Housing Bureau homepage

http://www.thb.gov.hk/eng/policy/housing/policy/private/index.htm

6

assist the public to choose accommodation according to their affordability and

personal circumstances, and encourage those who can afford it to buy their

own homes;

provide subsidized home ownership flats on top of public rental housing so as to

build a progressive housing ladder; and

maintain the healthy and steady development of the private property market,

with priority to be given to meet Hong Kong permanent residents’ needs

amidst a tight supply situation.

Relevant schemes provided by the Government response to housing supply for the

middle class thought out the decades: (see table 1)

Table 1

Scheme Explanation

Home Ownership Scheme

(HOS)

Home Ownership Scheme (HOS) is designed to assist

residents to buy their own home. 10

The scheme is response to the aspirations of low- and

middle-income families to buy their own homes.

The scheme has been suspended in 2003 due to falling

real estate values.11

But the Chief Executive

announced in the 2011/12 Policy Address the

resumption of the HOS.

The Tenants Purchase

Scheme (TPS)

Tenants Purchase Scheme is a scheme that allows

tenants to buy their flats in public housing estates

under Hong Kong Housing Authority. 12

TPS was introduced since 1997 which aimed to enable

at least 250 000 families living in rental housing to

buy their flats at affordable prices over the next ten

years. 13

The price is set to be much lower than the market

values of private flats and Home Ownership Scheme

(HOS) owing to the age of flats and restriction on

10

Housing Department homepage http://www.housingauthority.gov.hk/en/home-ownership/ 11

Wikipedia: Home Ownership Scheme. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Home_Ownership_Scheme

12

Wikipedia: Tenants Purchase Scheme . http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tenants_Purchase_Scheme 13

Data from http://www.housingauthority.gov.hk/arpt9900/eng/realize/realize_tps.html

7

selling.

The Home Assistance Loan

Scheme (HALS)

The Home Assistance Loan Scheme (HALS) was

introduced in January 2003, aiming to help eligible

applicants to buy flat by offering them financial

assistance.

The approved families14

may opt to have an

interest-free loan of $530,000 (to be repaid over 13

years) or $390,000 (to be repaid over 20 years), or a

monthly mortgage subsidy of $3,800 (payable for 48

months). The loan and subsidy amount for single

person is half of the above rates.

However, after conducting an overall review on the

scheme, the Housing Authority terminated the HALS

in 2004.

Sandwich Class Housing

Scheme (SCHS)

The Sandwich Class Housing Scheme (SCHS) 15

aims

at providing housing to those who are unable to

afford flats in the private sector but exceeded the

income limits for HOS.

In view of the change of market needs after 200016

,

the government decided to suspend the sale of this

scheme since 2001. And there are three of the

Sandwich Class Housing developments were

converted into private properties for sale at full

market values.

My Home Purchase Plan

(MHPP)

The 2011/12 Policy Address 17

announced various

enhancement measures to the MHPP.

Under the enhancement measures, apart from the

proposed “rent-and-buy” mode, a “buy-or-rent”

option which allows the applicants to buy their

14

Data from http://www.housingauthority.gov.hk/en/home-ownership/loan-schemes/index.html 15

Legco Paper : http://www.legco.gov.hk/yr98-99/english/panels/hg/papers/hg05074b.htm 16

LCQ15: Subsidised housing for sandwich class. Retrieved from

http://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201212/12/P201212120307.htm 17

Legco Paper: http://www.legco.gov.hk/yr11-12/english/panels/hg/papers/hg0104cb1-699-3-e.pdf

8

MHPP flats direct at market price. (without going

through a rental period)

This aim to help households which have the long-term

ability to purchase a flat but do not have enough the

down payment to rent a MHPP flat first, and save up

money for the future home purchase plan.

The first 5000 flats under the plan is expected to be

ready for sell in 2014.

From the above analysis, we can see the features of the post-80s, the general situation of

housing supply and related policies provided by the government, which are some of the

factors for the difficulties for the post-80s to purchase flats. In the following, I will further

explain different views towards the difficulties of the post-80s and discuss whether the

government should provide assistance to them.

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C. In-depth Explanation of the Issue

In recent years, the post-80s complained not well tackled by the government in many

aspects such as their occupational opportunities, their relatively drop of income as

compared with previous generation and therefore it led to the difficulties in purchasing

their own flats. At the same time, they asked for the government to carry out policy help

them to buy their own flats.

The key stakeholders with various view involved in the issue such as the Hong Kong

government, the politician (legislative councilors and party members), the scholars, the

post-80s and the general public.

The viewpoints to support the government need to address the home-purchasing issue

for post-80s:

The DAB18

expected the government can support the youngsters in academic, jobs finding

and flat purchasing as the youngsters nowadays facing strong difficulties and lack of

upward mobility. As the price of property market is keep on rising, the youngsters may face

frustration and low the sense of belonging to the society of Hong Kong.

The scholar, Professor Victor Wong of HKBU’s Department of Social Work,19

agreed that

it was too difficult for the young people to buy flat. As according to the Census and

Statistics Department, when the Hong Kong median pay rose 10% from 2001 to 2010, the

median income for people aged 15 to 24 remained unchanged at HK$8000. Even they have

tertiary education, close to 98% of this group live with their families. The government

needed to review the existing housing supply policy to tackle with the post-80s’s plight.

The post-80s expect the government can help them to purchase the flat in Hong Kong.

They think the government cannot follow the `small government’ and `big market’ policy

as the high price of property market. 20

As a university graduate, their salary is over the

requirement for PRH, but private housing is too expensive for them to buy. Many of them

cannot manage to buy homes for their marriage needs. Therefore, the government should

pay heed to this need.

18

Legco record. Retrieved from

http://www.legco.gov.hk/yr13-14/chinese/counmtg/floor/cm0109-confirm-ec.pdf 19

HKBU: Horizon. Tipping point: Hong Kong’s alarming income inequality. Retrieved from

http://cpro.hkbu.edu.hk/online_pub/nh_1213_2/nh1213_2_p12-17.pdf 20置業零資助 八十後被逼蝸居 http://newhongkonger.blogspot.hk/2010/06/blog-post_14.html

10

The viewpoints do not support the government need to address the home-purchasing

issue for post-80s:

The property analysts21

point out the focus of this issue is not on the help from the

government, rather, the attitude of the youngsters is more important. The pattern of

property market likes a cycle with up and down. If the youngsters aim at purchasing flat,

they can wait for a suitable time when the property market is going down. As they are

young, they have lots of time for saving money and waiting for a suitable time.

The legislative councilor, Wong Kong Hing,22

agreed that it is a serious problem for the

post-80s generation in purchasing flats. It is hard for youngsters to afford private housing

because they cannot afford the first instalment from their low incomes. Government seems

failed to address this issue effectively. But the post-80s should not rely on the government.

They should upgrade themselves to enhance their ability rather rely on the help from the

government.

The public who have the property23

do not support the government to subsidise the

youngsters. Buying flat was not an easy task even in the past few decades; it is not the

special problem for post-80s nowadays. As many banks allow 5% of the down payment for

youngsters, it was not an impossible task if they really want to purchase flat. Even, they

could buy home in remote areas which the prices of flat would be more reasonable.

Government’s view on housing problem24

It is inadequate land supply in Hong Kong. And it has a drop in land sales over the past few

years, combined with a decrease in private housing supply, property prices therefore raise

up further. In addition, strong demand from Mainland and overseas investors for

high-priced residential properties, developers have shifted to provide high-end units in

recent years. All these reasons have caused anxiety and pressure for potential buyers who

find prices beyond their reach.

Therefore, the government organized the Long Term Housing Strategy Steering

Committee25

to study the long term housing strategy and accepted the suggestion to

increase housing supply. The result of the study recommended that the future housing

supply be predominated by public housing with a 6:4 public-to-private housing ratio.

Public housing includes public rental housing (PRH) and subsidized HOS housing and the

21

Data from Http://www.mortgagepro.hk/ch/news/June-25 22

CUHK: Varsity May 2010. http://www.com.cuhk.edu.hk/varsity/1003/housing.pdf 23置業零資助 八十後被逼蝸居.http://newhongkonger.blogspot.hk/2010/06/blog-post_14.html, 24

Policy Address 2012. http://www.policyaddress.gov.hk/11-12/eng/p18.html 25

Policy Address 2014. http://www.policyaddress.gov.hk/2014/eng/p141.html

11

allocation of these housing flats will be based on the "putting Hong Kong people first"

principle.

12

D. Judgment and Justification

What are the causes of the difficulties faced by post 80’s in Hong Kong when

purchasing flat?

Causes of difficulties

After the above discussion, the factors causing the difficulties faced by post 80’s can be

divided into two types – internal and external. The internal one is more likely related to the

post-80s whereas the external one refers to the situations in Hong Kong.

Internal

High education, low salaries and unemployment

Table 1: Percentage of Population with Tertiary Education in Hong Kong by Birth Cohort, 1981-2006

Source: 2010, `HK’s Post-80s Generation: profiles and predicaments’

Table 1 shows the percentage of people born between 1959 and 1988 who have received

tertiary education as of 2006.26

It shows there was only 7.56% of young people from

1959-1963 (in age of 18-22) group had tertiary education in 1981, while increase to

39.75% of young people from 1984-1988 (in age of 18-22) group had tertiary education in

2006.

Table 2: The Ratio of Median Earnings (subgroup vs. General Working Population in Hong Kong by Birth

Cohort, 1981-2006

Source: 2010, `HK’s Post-80s Generation: profiles and predicaments’

26

HKUST. Hong Kong ‘s Post-80s Generation : Profiles and Predicaments. May 2010. Downloaded

from

http://www.cpu.gov.hk/doc/en/research_reports/HK's%20Post%2080s%20Generation%20-%20Profiles

%20and%20Predicaments.pdf

13

Table 2 shows the ratio of the monthly median income for different birth cohorts to the

general population from 1981 to 2006. The youngsters of age 18-22 earned 80% of the

Hong Kong’s median salary in 1981 and dropped to only 56% in 2006.

The post-80s are now faring worse than their predecessors in their economic fortunes.

Another data27

also illustrated 53.9% of those born in 1976-80 earned salary under

HK$10,000 in their early career phase (e.g. aged 21-25) in 2010.

In addition, the percentage of unemployed youths increased from 3.87 of youth aged

between 18 and 22 (those who born in 1959-1963) in 1981 to 11.84 in 2006 (for those born

in 1983-1988). 28

It showed improved education of the young people did not necessarily

lead to more employment opportunities.

Figure 1

Source: 八十後置業的幸與不幸, 2010-01-25 Hong Kong Economic Journal

Figure 1 shows the percentage of young people buying flat has dropped from around 40%

in 2002 to around 26% in 2010. The data29

from the By-Census in 2009 also indicated that

27

China Daily, `Post-80s need HOS housing’ , Mar 1 2011. Retrieved from

http://www.cdeclips.com/en/hongkong/Post-80s_need_HOS_housing/fullstory_61373.html

28

HKUST. Hong Kong ‘s Post-80s Generation : Profiles and Predicaments. May 2010. Retrieved from

http://www.cpu.gov.hk/doc/en/research_reports/HK's%20Post%2080s%20Generation%20-%20Profiles

%20and%20Predicaments.pdf 29

Hong Kong Economic Journal. 八十後置業的幸與不幸, 2010-01-25.

14

there were about 980 thousand people ranged age 20 to 29; it shared 14% of total

population. It implies lots of people affected and they are the young generation in Hong

Kong.

From the above tables and figures, it clearly shows that the post-80s suffered from the

features of higher unemployment rates, lower starting salaries and low earning that affect

the dropping in the transaction in property market. As buying flat involves a huge amount

of money as down payment and the long installment in the following ten or twenty years, if

the young people lack of money and job security, they are not capable to buy flat.

High expectation

The post-80s were born in the period when Hong Kong economy rapidly growth. They

enjoy a better living condition since their childhood. Some of them may even be the only

child at home, who enjoys the best materialistic lifestyle. Many fresh graduates changes

jobs every year or every two years. Their motivation aims at better title and better money.30

This phenomenon also contributed to the high expectations towards flats of post 80’s as

they want to have a similar living condition, regardless of their ability and current economy.

The pursuit of higher quality of life leads to more difficulties while post 80’s purchases

their flat.

Besides, post 80’s are considered as self-centre by their employers31

. Post 80’s were born in

an affluent society which is different from previous generations. Therefore, they may give

an image to their employers that they are spoiled, not hard-working enough, lack of

patience and modest mind to learn from others. Due to their negative images, managers or

employers refuse to promote post-80’s, as a result, they have less chance to be promoted in

managerial and professional level with more satisfactory wages.

Dependent Personality

Instead of seeking a way out, some post-80s tend to wait for others’ helping hand32

. They

refuse to admit that they also have responsibility in purchasing their own flats, but believe

this is the false of the government, property developers or speculators. Some of them may

spoil by their families and get used to rely on their parents, rather than paying effort by

themselves.

30

SCMP, Why and wherefores of Generation Y, 22 June 2013. 31

Sing Tao, 27/2/2010 僱主調查：「80 後」講潮語致誤解. Retrieved from

http://www2.news.sina.com.hk/cgi-bin/nw/show.cgi/2/1/1/1439968/1.html. 32林匡正, <<八十後運動>>, 次文化堂.

15

External

Limited land supply

Land supply in Hong Kong is limited. Around 23% of land has been developed33

and

about 40% are covered by country parks. And less than 7% of Hong Kong’s total land

is currently allocated for residential purposes. 34

For increasing land supply, the

issues such as reclamation and developed in country parks faced strong opposition in

the society.

Less transactions but high prices

There is a huge gap between the ideal and the reality in the property market.35

From the

period of 2010 to 2013, the number of property transactions dropped seriously from 15 000

to 50 000. And the property prices during these few years increased by 30%. More worse,

another data showed the completion of 9000 private residential units per year on average in

recent years. In that case, it is difficult for Hong Kong people find enough residential units

to purchase.

Some people comment this problem as the result of the policy of high land prices.36

The

Government put up dozens of lands for sale in every land sale exercise, but the transaction

prices invariably hit a record high every time due to limited supply from the government.

Low priority in Government

The public were generally accepted that the others have more pressing needs and should

take priority for PRH, such as the elderly, the poor, and low-income single earners aged

over 3537

. In the government’s Consultation Document 38

notes that` it would be difficult to

accord top priority to the housing needs of youngsters for the time being..’ but “the younger

generation is the future [and] the government must demonstrate its commitment to resolve

the housing problem, and establish an effective housing ladder which promotes mobility.”

If youngsters with less income, they plan to apply PRH. But the frustration also appeared as

there is a long waiting list and with low priority to them. A data39

shows that of 228,400

applicants on the waiting list at the end of March last 2013, 60,400 were aged below 30.

33

SCMP, Country park carve-up the worst of all land options, 17 September, 2013 34

Data from

http://www.educationpost.com.hk/resources/youth/140117-housing-dilemmas-give-the-young-a-future

35

Lego paper: http://www.legco.gov.hk/yr13-14/english/counmtg/hansard/cm0116-translate-test-e.pdf 36

Legco paper: http://www.legco.gov.hk/yr13-14/english/counmtg/hansard/cm0116-translate-test-e.pdf 37

SCMP, More young people drawn to public rental housing, 2 Jan 2014 38

Long Term Housing Strategy: Building Consensus, Building Homes , Sept 2013,

http://www.thb.gov.hk/eng/policy/housing/policy/lths/lthb_consultation_doc_201309.pdf 39

SCMP, More young people drawn to public rental housing, 2 Jan 2014

16

The number had grown from 16,500 in 2009 to 45,700 in 2012. Among the young

applicants, just over half were students and more than two-thirds were educated to

post-secondary level or above, while the rest had attained secondary level. It showed that

the demand of young people with their own flat was really needed. However, the

government stated the priority goes to the elderly and lower income family, and there is no

estimation of the waiting time of non-elderly one-person applicants.40

Limitations of Current Policies

In the light of difficulties mentioned, Hong Kong government has adopted various

measures including Home Ownership Scheme (HOS), Home Assistance Loan Scheme

(HALS) and My Home Purchase Plan (MHPP). However, the schemes have their

limitations. Such as the HOS which targeted to family, the need of single post’s 80 is not

taken into account. As the HOS has been stopped for a few years, the young couples were

also suffered. The schemes such as HALS and SCHS were suspended nowadays; more

middle class young couples were lack of other channels for help. For the MHPP, the quota

was set to 5000 at first, which was not enough for such a large number of post-80s.

Therefore, from the above analysis, for the young people who have need in home

purchasing due to personal needs for single living or form a family, they are still suffering

from both internal factors with lots of personal constraint and external factors in the society

that no suitable policy specifically tailored for them.

Should the government set up policy for helping the post 80’s to purchase flat in Hong

Kong?

I do not agree the government to set up policy for helping the post 80’s to purchase flat in

Hong Kong. There are three reasons are: first, it is not a unique issue in Hong Kong;

second, it is the duty of the post-80s, and third, the government uphold the fair principle

that need to allocate the resources to most needed person.

Not a unique issue in Hong Kong

The problems that the post-80s generation faces are not unique to Hong Kong, but common

in other countries. For example in Canada41

, some young generation cannot purchase

affordable homes or securing reasonable rentals by moving into non-traditional alternatives

40

LCQ15: Waiting time for Public Rental Housing applications

http://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201105/25/P201105250111.htm

41

Date from

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/gen-y-struggles-in-expensive-housing-rental-market-1.2102109

17

like cars, boats and collective houses. As the average cost of a Canadian home has more

than doubled since 2000.

It is common in both Taiwan and China too. There was a popular television drama called

‘Woju’,42

translated as snail home, sparked a nationwide discussion about skyrocketing

house prices and their impact on social stability, especially regarding the younger

generations. The Chief Economist of the National Bureau of Statistics of China says:

`The collective effort of four families is required to support a young family’s decision to buy

a house. Three generations of savings are thus exhausted in buying a single house.’43

Therefore, it is not a common practice that governments provide assistance to a specific age

group for the purchase of homes.

The responsibility of the post-80s

As an adult in the society, the post-80s have the rights to choose their own lifestyle and

responsible to achieve it by their own effort. If they want to set up a family and acquire flat,

they need a long term plan and serious consideration. They need to sacrifice some

enjoyment and save money for a long time for down payment and long term installment.

They also equip themselves with the knowledge of buying flat with a suitable financial

arrangement with banks or applying different schemes from the government.

Uphold fairness from the government

In Hong Kong, the problems of cage homes, cubicle apartments and sub-divided units

(SDU) also aroused the concern from the public. According to the Government,44

poorly-housed households refer to those living in private temporary huts, rooftop structures,

unsheltered accommodation and rooms/cubicles, bedspaces or cocklofts in private

permanent housing. For the SDU, it was estimated that there were 66 900 subdivided units

in Hong Kong involving 171 300 residents, accounting for 2.4% of the total population in

Hong Kong in 2013.45

49.6% of households living in SDU had applied for public housing.

It is obvious that the government should allocate the resource to them first as their situation

deserve more consideration.

Suggestions for Government

However, to a certain extent, I think the government can provide indirect help, such as

42

Data from eastasia forum website, China’s housing crisis, 18 January 2010,

http://www.eastasiaforum.org/2010/01/18/chinas-housing-crisis-2/ 43

Data from eastasia forum website, China’s housing crisis, 18 January 2010,

http://www.eastasiaforum.org/2010/01/18/chinas-housing-crisis-2/ 44

Legco paper: http://www.legco.gov.hk/yr12-13/english/sec/library/1213in22-e.pdf 45

Report on Survey on Subdivided Units in Hong Kong

http://www.thb.gov.hk/eng/policy/housing/policy/lths/sdurpt2013.pdf

18

stabilizing the property market, for young people in buying flats in the long run to achieve

social harmony and improve their quality of life.

Professor Victor Wong of HKBU’s Department of Social Work suggests that the

government needs to review the existing housing supply policy.46

Increasing the supply of

Home Ownership Scheme (HOS) flats is one of the ways to address the aspirations of

young people. This is because 70%-80% of actual first-time home buyers are aged 39 or

below.47

Besides, suitable property cooling measures to suppress speculation are needed. The

government can slightly intervene in the private property market, in order to restrict

speculation. The consideration of reintroducing rent control policy, enhancement of the

existing Special Stamp Duty and the introduction f the Buyer’s Stamp Duty in October,

201248

could be regarded as indirect measures to stabilize the property market on the one

hand, and address the issue of post 80s buying flats in the long run. It is because that these

measures would prevent rapid rise in property market. It is hope that the government can be

more sensitive to the market and adjust the suitable measures when needed.

Suggestions for Post 80’s

Apart from the help from government, the post-80s have the responsibility in enhancing

their ability in purchasing flats; they should prepare a budget49

, planning for the

expenditure and low risk investment50

, in order to save for capital in a quicker manner,

while reducing the effect of inflation occurred. For improving the negative image which

leads to the lack of promote opportunities, post 80’s should avoid bad personality such as

self-centre and changing job frequently. In contrary, post 80’s should learn from the older

generation, enhancing their working ability, and prove to the employers that they are

capable for a higher position and value a higher wages.

Conclusion

In my study, I have pointed put the difficulties faced by post 80’s when purchasing

owner-occupied flats and the causes behind. After summarizing, the difficulties can be

classified as internal and external factors that affect the post-80s in buying flats. I agree that

the post-80s have problems in buying flats but I do not agree the government need to be

46

Mentioned on P.9 47

Data from

http://www.educationpost.com.hk/resources/youth/140117-housing-dilemmas-give-the-young-a-future 48

Hong Kong Yearbook 2012. 49陳振康, <<上流力>>,天窗出版社 50

<<80 後置業錦囊>> , 紅石研究部, 青森文化

19

responsible and need to tackle them merely. I hope the government need to allocate the

resources to those more in needed rather than the post-80s. To improve the situation,

suggestions to government on policies adoption and suggestions to post-80s are discussed.

20

Bibliography / Reference

Book

1. <<八十後運動>>, 林匡正, 次文化堂

2. <<上流力>>, 陳振康, 天窗出版社

3. <<80 後置業錦囊>> , 紅石研究部, 青森文化

4. Land and the Ruling Class in Hong Kong (Alice Poon, Enrich Culture Group Limited)

News articles

1. China Daily, `Post-80s need HOS housing’ , Mar 1 2011. Retrieved from

http://www.cdeclips.com/en/hongkong/Post-80s_need_HOS_housing/fullstory_61

373.html

2. China Daily, My Home Purchase Plan vs traditional HOS housing. 19/10/2010.

3. HKET, 7 成青年憂財政 多涉置業難, 14/5/2012.

4. Hong Kong Economic Journal, 八十後置業的幸與不幸, 2010-01-25. Retrieved

from

http://hk.news.yahoo.com/7%E6%88%90%E9%9D%92%E5%B9%B4%E6%86

%82%E8%B2%A1%E6%94%BF-%E5%A4%9A%E6%B6%89%E7%BD%AE

%E6%A5%AD%E9%9B%A3-224848702.html

http://www2.news.sina.com.hk/cgi-bin/nw/show.cgi/2/1/1/1439968/1.html.

5. SCMP, Country park carve-up the worst of all land options, 17 September, 2013.

6. SCMP, More young people drawn to public rental housing, 2 Jan 2014.

7. SCMP, Why and wherefores of Generation Y, 22 June 2013.

8. Singtao, 僱主調查：「80 後」講潮語致誤解, 27/2/2010.

9. Singtao,「八十後」置業難 宜研究針對性「補底」, 10/1/2010.

10. Wenweipo, 香港樓價創 1997 年後新高, 6/4/2012 . Retrieved from

http://news.wenweipo.com/2012/04/06/IN1204060053.htm

Videos

1. http://mytv.tvb.com/news/newsat630/118901/726#page-1 (27 May 2011)

2. http://programme.rthk.org.hk/rthk/tv/programme.php?name=tv/roomstolet2010&d

=2011-02-01&p=4917&e=129804&m=episode (1 Feb 2011)

3. http://programme.rthk.org.hk/rthk/tv/programme.php?name=tv/newsreview&d=20

10-11-27&p=1987&e=123172&m=episode (27 Oct 2010)

4. http://programme.rthk.org.hk/rthk/tv/programme.php?name=tv/hkcc&d=2011-05-

23&p=858&e=141097&m=episode (23 May 2011)

21

Websites

1. CUHK: Varsity May 2010.

http://www.com.cuhk.edu.hk/varsity/1003/housing.pdf

2. HKBU: Horizon. Tipping point: Hong Kong’s alarming income inequality.

Retrieved from

http://cpro.hkbu.edu.hk/online_pub/nh_1213_2/nh1213_2_p12-17.pdf

3. HKUST. Hong Kong ‘s Post-80s Generation : Profiles and Predicaments. May

2010. Downloaded from

http://www.cpu.gov.hk/doc/en/research_reports/HK's%20Post%2080s%20Gen

eration%20-%20Profiles%20and%20Predicaments.pdf

4. Hong Kong Yearbook 2012.

http://www.yearbook.gov.hk/2012/en/pdf/E11.pdf

5. Housing Department homepage

http://www.housingauthority.gov.hk/en/home-ownership/

6. http://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201105/25/P201105250111.htm

7. LCQ15: Subsidised housing for sandwich class. Retrieved from

http://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201212/12/P201212120307.htm

8. LCQ15: Waiting time for Public Rental Housing applications

9. Legco Paper :

http://www.legco.gov.hk/yr98-99/english/panels/hg/papers/hg05074b.htm

10. Legco Paper:

http://www.legco.gov.hk/yr11-12/english/panels/hg/papers/hg0104cb1-699-3-e

.pdf

11. Legco paper:

http://www.legco.gov.hk/yr12-13/english/sec/library/1213in22-e.pdf

12. Legco record: Retrieved from

http://www.legco.gov.hk/yr13-14/chinese/counmtg/floor/cm0109-confirm-ec.p

df

13. Lego paper:

http://www.legco.gov.hk/yr13-14/english/counmtg/hansard/cm0116-translate-t

est-e.pdf

14. Long Term Housing Strategy: Building Consensus, Building Homes , Sept

2013,

http://www.thb.gov.hk/eng/policy/housing/policy/lths/lthb_consultation_doc_2

01309.pdf

15. Policy Address 2012. http://www.yearbook.gov.hk/2012/en/pdf/E11.pdf

22

16. Policy Address 2013.

http://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201301/16/P201301160282.htm

17. Policy Address 2014. http://www.policyaddress.gov.hk/2014/eng/p141.html

18. Report on Survey on Subdivided Units in Hong Kong

http://www.thb.gov.hk/eng/policy/housing/policy/lths/sdurpt2013.pdf

19. Retrieved from

http://www.housingauthority.gov.hk/arpt9900/eng/realize/realize_tps.html

20. Retrieved from : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Post-80s

21. Retrieved from eastasia forum website, China’s housing crisis, 18 January

2010, http://www.eastasiaforum.org/2010/01/18/chinas-housing-crisis-2/

22. Retrieved from

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/gen-y-struggles-in-expensive-housing-rental-

market-1.2102109

23. Retrieved from

http://www.educationpost.com.hk/resources/youth/140117-housing-dilemmas-

give-the-young-a-future

24. Retrieved from Http://www.mortgagepro.hk/ch/news/June-25

25. Transport and Housing Bureau homepage

http://www.thb.gov.hk/eng/policy/housing/policy/private/index.htm

26. Website of Hong Kong Housing Authority

http://www.housingauthority.gov.hk/arpt9900/eng/realize/ealize_hos.html

27. Website of Housing Department:

http://www.housingauthority.gov.hk/en/home-ownership/surplus-hos-flats/inde

x.html

28. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Home_Ownership_Scheme

29. Wikipedia: Tenants Purchase Scheme .

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tenants_Purchase_Scheme

30. 置業零資助 八十後被逼蝸居

http://newhongkonger.blogspot.hk/2010/06/blog-post_14.html

23

Exemplar

No.

Marks

Problem Definition

and Identification of

Concepts/ knowledge

Explanation and

Justification

Presentation and

Organisation

2 8-9 8-9 8-9