By Alex Frew McMillan and James Pomfret
HONG KONG (Reuters) - Hong Kong's new leader laid out a long-awaited housing policy on Thursday, promising 65,000 new residential flats in the next three to four years, but analysts lamented the lack of fresh measures to cool the red-hot property market.
Home prices in the former British colony have risen 12.3 percent so far this year, according to data from Centaline Property Agency, and soared 89 percent since the end of 2008, making Hong Kong home prices among the world's most expensive.
Leung Chun-ying, who took office in July, had been expected to formulate substantive housing policies as part of campaign pledges, but stopped short of major new initiatives to alleviate the growing social strain of soaring property prices.
"The housing problems are becoming more acute," Leung, a former property surveyor, told reporters. "The government is aware housing is an issue dear to the heart of everyone."
Most of the Leung's measures focused on bolstering sales of existing public housing and subsidised housing units, as well as converting older industrial buildings for residential use in fast-expanding districts.
Since taking office, Leung's administration has been hit by mass protests over contentious polices on national education and China integration amongst others.
As well as the new 65,000 private sector units in the next 3-4 years, Leung reiterated plans for 75,000 public housing units to come onto the market in the next five years. He said the re-zoning of industrial sites, if successful, could yield an extra 11,900 units.
The previous administration aimed to supply land to build 20,000 units per year, so the private supply does not diverge substantially from that.
"To me it's just a repackaging of all existing policies," Alfred Lau, a property analyst at Bocom International said.
"It's like a placebo ... The thinking is to try to comfort people, even though there's very little we can do."
Some analysts said the measures would do little to cool prices in a market that some fear is in bubble territory.
"His intention is to help people to buy," Lau added. "The hidden message is that he's not bringing down the market to help these kind of people."
NO NEW COOLING MEASURES
Leung failed to give details on a controversial plan to restrict the sale of certain properties to Hong Kong residents, a move widely viewed as being aimed at shunning affluent mainland Chinese buyers.
He pledged, however, that the "Hong Kong land for Hong Kong people" plan would eventually be implemented in a city known for its laissez faire economy.
Mainland buyers have been a powerful force in the Hong Kong property market, accounting for 37 percent of new properties in Hong Kong in the first quarter of this year, and an all-time high of 51 percent of purchases in the third quarter of last year.
Standard Chartered analyst Kelvin Lau noted the lack of fresh measures to cool the market, such as an increase in stamp duty or further measures to curb borrowing.
The government has already put in place a stamp duty on quick resales to curb speculation, and has slashed mortgage limits.
"We think the latest measures will at best help to calm the market," Kelvin Lau said. "The risk of a sizeable price correction still appears low for now."
Leung stressed the government's role was not to directly influence property prices, but would respond appropriately with fresh measures if necessary amid macroeconomic uncertainties.
(Editing by Jeremy Laurence)
