Build hostels for young while they save for costly housing deposits: think tank
Bauhinia Foundation also suggested other ways to ease financial burden on younger generation
A think tank with strong ties to Hong Kong's former leader says the government should reduce housing expenses and build more hostels for young people to live in while they saved to buy flats.
The Bauhinia Foundation Research Centre has found that the younger generation in the city must save for years before they are able to afford the down payment on an average flat.
The study, based on an analysis of government statistics from 1991 to 2014, found that a young couple now had to save for 14 years and four months to put down a deposit on a 40 square metre flat - up from eight years and eight months in 1991.
The centre said inflation and home prices had far outpaced income growth, and that this was a key obstacle to the upward social mobility of people aged 15 to 24.
"If young people are uncertain about the opportunities for moving upwards, they will have no interest in or passion for society," centre chairman Dr Donald Li Kwok-tung said.
"This is harmful to social stability," he added.
The hostel proposal, among other suggestions, are made in a report on the social mobility of Hong Kong's young people published by the foundation, which was formed in 2006 by close allies of then chief executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen.
The report came against the background of the Occupy protests, which some have attributed in part to disaffection of young people faced with high costs and poor employment opportunities.
But vice-chairman Lau Ming-wai said the study began a year ago, and denied it was a reaction to the months-long pro-democracy street protests led by students and young workers.
"These are medium-term solutions aimed at helping young people step up," Lau said. "To target the problem of inflation and high housing prices, we would require further study to tackle the complex issues."
According to the latest survey by US consultant Demographia, Hong Kong had the most unaffordable housing for the fourth straight year among 360 cities and countries, as well as the smallest homes.
The study also found that education remained the key to a good job, with 40 per cent of high-end earners having a tertiary qualification compared to just 7 per cent without one.
But Lau said even the incomes of the better-educated had been eroded by inflation, while 40 per cent of young people were working in such areas as retailing and hotels, meaning they might lack chances for advancement.
The Bauhinia centre suggested easing the repayment terms of student loans, enhancing skills-based training, reviewing sub-degree courses and creating more well-paid jobs.
The study also said the current apprenticeship scheme for skills-based industries was unattractive, and should be extended to people older than 19.
