2024-05-17 28Hse Editor
The results of the 2023 Home Ownership Scheme (HOS) are out. The first ten lucky numbers drawn for the Scheme are in the following order: 92, 31, 59, 78, 1, 36, 20, 68, 69, and 48. Based on the last two digits of their application number, applicants can deduce their likelihood of purchasing a Home Ownership Scheme flat.
The new phase of HOS flats will be sold at 62% off the market price. The six new estates involved are Kai Yuet Court in Kai Tak, On Ying Court, On Wah Court, and On Lai Court in Kwun Tong, as well as Long Tin Court in Yuen Long, and Siu Tsui Court in Tuen Mun, with a total of 9,154 flats available. At the same time, the Housing Authority (HA) also resold 60 HOS flats that had been repossessed due to the cancellation of the Sales and Purchase Agreement (SPA).
A total of 170,000 applications were received for Home Ownership Scheme 2023, which was only about 18 times oversubscribed. Among them, Green Form applications comprised a quarter of the applications and White Forms accounted for about three quarters. Based on 40/60 ratio between Green Form and White Form prospective buyers, applicants can choose from 3,686 and 5,528 HOS flats respectively.
As in the past, the Housing Authority will reserve different quotas for different groups of applicants. This year, 900 quotas are reserved for single applicants, while for applicants from nuclear families with elderly parents, the Housing Authority reserved 2,700 units.
As the number of applicants, flat quota and order of flat selection for different groups are different, the chance of flat selection varies even if applicants share the same number. But since the HA has not disclosed the number of applicants for the Green Form and White Form categories, it is difficult to determine chances of flat selection for each category.
Having said that, turning to single-person applicants – which are of great concern –there were 81,795 White Form single-person applicants, according to the HA, with about 817 applicants in the first ballot; the White Form single-person quota was only 540. From this, it can be seen that even if a White Form single-person applicant wins the first ballot, securing a flat is not guaranteed, with only a 66% chance that they will be able to choose one.
The HA will notify successful applicants by letter and conduct an income and asset review. It is expected that eligible successful applicants will start flat selection in the first quarter of next year at the earliest, and approval letters for applying for the Certificate of Eligibility to Purchase (CEP) will be issued to eligible applicants under the White Form Secondary Market Scheme.
According to current housing policies in Hong Kong, each person is only entitled to subsidised housing benefits once. So what should you pay attention to when selecting flats? What is the procedure for flat selection? After submitting the income and asset declaration form, eligible applicants will receive a letter from the HA informing them to go to the HOS Sales Unit for flat selection.
It's worth noting that for applicants joining the Elderly Persons Priority Scheme, family member(s) aged 60 or above must be present and registered. Upon arrival at the HOS Sales Unit, applicants must first attend a briefing session and then select flats in order of priority. Flats will be purchased on a first-come-first-served basis, so applicants should research thoroughly and choose more than one flat of their choice.
In addition, you will need to sign the Sales and Purchase Agreement and pay the deposit on the same day. Therefore, applicants are required to prepare a cashier’s order and cheque book on the day of flat selection in order to pay the deposit, which is no less than 5% of the flat price for Green Form applicants and no less than 10% of the flat price for White Form applicants.
After obtaining the Occupation Permit for the HOS flat, the buyer will be notified by the HA to apply for the Deed of Mutual Covenant. The buyer then has to complete the handover formalities, and pay stamp duty and other miscellaneous fees within a specified date, which is also when they apply for a mortgage.
Following completion of the transaction, the owner will receive a letter of notification of possession of the property. This is an important document and should be kept carefully. Upon receiving the letter, the owner can call HOS Management to arrange an appointment for the date and time of flat possession. When acquiring the flat, the owner should bring along their Letter of Possession, their Hong Kong identity card (both the original card and a photocopied version), and the proof of completion of sale and purchase of the flat issued by their solicitor's firm.
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