URA: Eight additional measures on control of flat sale of redevelopment projects
The Board of the Urban Renewal Authority (URA) today (Monday)
resolved to implement a package of additional measures for flat
sale of its redevelopment projects with an objective to further
enhancing transparency, taking into consideration the needs of the
genuine home buyers.
Outlining the additional measures for flat sales at a media
briefing this afternoon, the Chairman of the URA, Mr Barry Cheung
Chun-yuen, emphasised that the URA, as a public-funded statutory
body, has all along attached a great deal of importance to flat
sale arrangements for its redevelopment projects adopting higher
standards of good practice than the market practices. "We
hope to implement these measures with our joint venture partners so
as to enhance our flat sale mechanism," he said.
"According to the development agreement with the Authority's joint
venture partners for individual projects, the marketing and flat
sale arrangements are undertaken by the joint venture partners.
However, we have closely monitored activities and arrangements
relating to flat sales including marketing and sales strategies and
relevant documents to ensure that they are in full compliance with
the guidelines and regulations of Transport and Housing Bureau,
Legal Advisory and Conveyancing Office of the Lands Department,
Real Estate Developers' Association (REDA), Consumer Council and
Estate Agents Authority," said Mr Cheung.
The URA also scrutinizes and approves the proposed price list for
flat sale to ensure that it is in line with the market price to
minimize speculative activities, he added.
Mr Cheung said in the wake of the new measures recently put
forward by the Government, the Authority would work closely with
the Administration on the implementation of these measures.
In addition to the existing measures for flat sales that are
already in place and exercised by the Authority, Mr Cheung said the
URA Board endorsed a package of eight additional measures
today. "As a public body, the community at large generally
has a higher expectation on the Authority to adopt higher standards
of good practice already in place," Mr Cheung explained.
"These additional measures are introduced by URA with a view to
enhancing fair play of its property sales, facilitating opportunity
to the end-users, tightening representation by its joint venture
partners, ensuring disclosure and transparency of transacted
sales," he said.
Details of the eight additional measures are as follows:
Enhancing fairplay
- There shall be no internal sale by URA's joint venture developer. Only open sale shall be conducted.
- The flats selected by the joint venture developer for the first batch offered for sale should be agreed by URA.
- The staff members of the property agents / sub-agents engaged in marketing the units of the joint venture developer's project shall not be allowed to purchase the units in the project throughout the entire sale period.
Facilitating opportunity
- The first batch of units offered for sale shall all be sold to individual purchasers and not company purchasers.
- Not more than 10% of the total flats in a project shall be sold to company purchasers.
- Not more than two units shall be sold to the same buyer throughout the entire sale period.
Tightening representation
- Prior to the signing of preliminary agreement for sale and purchase, written declaration to URA shall be made by joint venture developer in respect of any proposed purchase by its board members, senior executives (staff members at or above manager level), the board members and senior executives of its holding company, and their connected persons as defined in the Hong Kong Stock Exchange Main Board Listing Rules.
Ensuring disclosure and transparency
- The following sales related information shall be disclosed in developer's website and displayed at the sales office(s) throughout the entire sale period in the manner as specified below:
- a full record of all the units sold, within 24 hours of signing of preliminary agreement for sale and purchase by URA;
- all price lists (other than the first price list) within one hour from release (the minimum timing of disclosure of first price list and sales brochure shall follow the prevailing guidelines issued by REDA); and
- all transactions by the board members and senior executives of the joint venture developer and its holding company, as well as their connected persons, within 24 hours of signing of preliminary agreement for sale and purchase by URA (for personal data reasons, the purchaser's name shall be excluded).
Mr Cheung said the flat sale arrangements would be reviewed and
refined from time to time to ensure they are conducive to changes
in the property market.
(ENDS)