New low: There were 300 private flats under construction in this year's first quarter.

This year's first quarter saw 300 private flats under construction and 1,000 flats completed, the Transport & Housing Bureau says. There were 52,000 unsold completed flats and flats under construction available in the primary market.

According to the private housing supply statistics released today, the number of private flats under construction in the first quarter was 73% less than the same period last year. The figure represented a 94% fall when compared with the last quarter.

For the 1,000 flats completed in the first quarter, the figure was 56.5% less than the same period last year. It was down 83.6% on last year's fourth quarter.

As at March, there were 9,000 unsold units in completed projects and 46,000 units under construction. As 3,000 units were sold by presale, there were 52,000 unsold completed units and units under construction in the private housing primary market, excluding the 13,000 units from disposed sites where construction has yet to start.