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In summary, all indicators lead to the conclusion that a general slowdown could be observed along
every step of the development cycle.
Starting from land acquisition, the estimated number of flats on spade-ready sites reported a 53% decrease since
2017/18. Moving on to the construction stage, the superstructure commencements witnessed a downfall of 44%
since 2017. When it comes to property sale, the number of units with presale consent issued was slashed by 35%
year-on-year, setting a new low in four years. Last but not least, the actual number of completions also dropped by
33% and hit a record low in four years.
The housing shortage is likely to be further exacerbated as the average development cycle may become longer.
According to our estimate based on the present progress from 268 projects that are expected to be completed in
2020–2024, their development cycle (from land acquisition to construction completion) on average should protract
from 4.5 years at present to 8 years by 2024.
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