Aspiring Hong Kong homeowners rush to sign up for chance to buy shoebox flats the size of 1½ car park spaces

Tiny government-subsidised flats as small as 186 sq ft have drawn the interest of aspiring homeowners in Hong Kong after applications launched on Friday, with some saying it was better to buy small than own nothing in the world’s most expensive property market.

The shoebox homes, located at the site of the former airport at Kai Tak, are among the 8,926 flats of various sizes offered as part of this year’s Home Ownership Scheme, targeting lower to middle-income households.

The Housing Authority said it received a total of 17,000 online applications on the first day of the scheme’s launch, in addition to accepting 100 forms and distributing 2,400 others at its sales centre in Lok Fu.

Amy Chow, 55, a former restaurant waitress, was among visitors to the centre on Friday morning. She said she was eager to own a place in an urban area, even if it meant a Kai Tak “nano” studio flat of just 186 sq ft, which is going for HK$1.59 million (US$203,850).

“It is so hard to have ‘a cosy nest’ in Hong Kong, although I have been working hard for so many years,” said Chow, who rents a flat in Sham Shui Po with her 22-year-old son.

The former waitress said she hoped her son could shoulder the responsibility for paying the mortgage after he graduated from university in a few months.