Claim of affordable housing land scarcity is nonsense, protesters say

The demonstration started in Tap Seac Square

Protest leaders at a demonstration in Tap Seac Square yesterday afternoon denounced a recent housing draw and criticized the government’s efforts to provide affordable housing. They specifically refuted the administration’s claim that the scarcity of land in Macau has restricted its capacity to provide housing units.
Hundreds of demonstrators (1,500 according to the organizers, 700 according to the police) held signs with slogans such as “Claim back land not being used properly”; “Build more public houses” and “Produce a timeline for housing.” They cheered on activists who accused the government of catering to the interests of property tycoons and wealthy foreigners.
Cloee Chao, activist and co-founder of the Macau Gaming Industry Frontline Workers’ Union, took to the stage and said, “We don’t want to work in Macau but be forced to live in Zhuhai.” She claimed that the authorities were exclusively catering to the city’s wealthy, while neglecting their responsibilities to the rest of the population.
Ms Chao also criticized the government’s line on limited space as the reason for the lack of housing development, saying that “the government’s claim of scarce land is nonsense.” According to her estimates, there are sufficient reserves to satisfy the entirety of the current housing requirements.
Other speakers blamed the ‘investment visa’ policy of previous MSAR administrations for the increased demand for property and the subsequent surge in prices. The policy, which granted residency to investors who purchased real estate valued at MOP 1 million or more, was discontinued in 2007.
The protest was organized by the Macau Community Development Initiative (MCDI), which was established last month and is supported by lawmakers Au Kam San and Ng Kuok Cheong. The organization aims to exert pressure on the government to change its housing policy, and to build 40,000 new housing units to accommodate unsuccessful applicants from the current scheme.
After hearing speeches in Tap Seac Square, protest leaders, cheered on by hundreds of their fellows, led the demonstration on a march toward the Old Court Building, located at Avenida da Praia Grande.
Demonstrators reminded the public that there are still 40,000 applicants waiting to hear the results of the second round of the application system, although there has been no information on when the second wave of results will be announced.
In March 2014, a similar number of people competed for approximately the same number of affordable housing units – about 40,000 applicants for 1,900 units. The media then criticized the government for allowing the construction of another 17,000 hotel rooms over the following few years despite planning to provide fewer than 5,000 affordable housing units in the same period.
The current system groups applicants according to their characteristics. Families consisting of biological relatives are prioritized, followed by groups of non-related adults and finally individuals. Under the former system, a proportion of the available housing was allocated to each group, but the system now prioritizes biologically related applicants over those from any other group.
If the number of affordable housing units does not exceed the number required by the biologically related group, no further housing allocation remains for other applicants. Although families who fail to secure a housing unit in the draw can return for another round, they will be entered under the same classification and priority.
The demonstrators argued that since the number of applicants and the number of new housing units appear to be growing at the same rate (applicant to housing unit ratio), applicants within the lower-priority groupings may never be eligible for a housing unit. The protestors are advocating for a return to the former policy.
Notable local personalities, such as lawmaker José Pereira Coutinho, have alleged that the administration is refusing to adequately address the housing shortage because of the officials’ ties with tycoon developers.
Local property prices have more than tripled on average since 2009, according to government data. However, additional data from the Financial Services Bureau claimed that the average prices of residential properties in the region have declined by 17 percent year-on-year to HKD 7,584 per square foot.
Despite recent trends, long-­term drivers of property values are expected to restore the rate of growth in prices. Population growth, immigration, rising incomes and scarcity of land have all been cited as contributing factors. Staff Reporter