Economic and Social Restructuring: Housing Implications for Young People in Hong Kong

Abstract

Globally, independent living and asset accumulation used to be among the major considerations for young people wanting to acquire ownership of their homes. Yet today in Hong Kong as well as in other developed economies, a reduced level of home ownership and young people delaying the formation of households have become prevalent phenomena. Due to the imbalance between house prices and incomes, access to housing seems an insurmountable impediment to the younger generation in Hong Kong. Such difficulty has reshaped their thoughts and behaviour. Distinctive features of the post-80s generation include late marriage, increasing mobility, heterogeneity in beliefs, more consumerism and optimism, unstable employment, longer schooling and rising education costs. Apart from these generational features, the post-80s cohort in Hong Kong has also been enmeshed in the transition to a knowledge-based economy. This working paper argues that their housing attitudes and aspirations are thus largely a product of the restructuring and enhancement of the local economy, property market volatility and the financial vulnerability of individuals, the continuing strength of family ties, and a neoliberal policy on real estate investment.