The First Senior Housing Report on Investment Potential in Hong Kong Releases Findings

Rising demand, limited land availability and high land costs have led to a shortage of senior housing, as the findings of the first senior housing report on local investment potential, titled Senior Housing: A Business Case for Investment in Hong Kong, have shown.

To overcome the challenges, the report has highlighted the need for stronger ageing policies and public-private collaboration, following present policies that allocate limited funding to the private sector. Thus, the provision of the following has been recommended:

• designated land use categories for senior housing;
• a preferential land premium for senior housing on residential land;
• incentives for the inclusion of senior-friendly design features;
• subsidised healthcare in private senior housing;
• expansion of healthcare services incentives to private operators.

Additionally, public acceptance and added value of professional services have been identified as contributing factors in boosting the market. To this end, below considerations for the private stakeholders have been included:

• development of intergenerational communities;
• add-on services for seniors, such as retrofitting of houses;
• greater use of technology in senior housing to support caretakers.

For details, please refer to the full report, released in October by the Urban Land Institute (ULI) and Chinachem Group (Chinachem). —Construction+ Online

Read: The First Comprehensive Study of Hong Kong’s Transitional Housing Programme Releases Interim Findings and Policy Recommendations

Source: Chinachem Group