The modification of the Application List system will lead to more successful triggers, potentially leading to more land sales and increased market activity, Director of Lands Patrick Lau says.

Speaking on a radio talk show today, Mr Lau said the measure was introduced to enhance the system's operation. He stressed there is no question of the Government selling land cheaply as a site will not be sold unless the highest bid meets or exceeds the open market value assessed on the day of auction or close of tender.

He said he did not want to speculate on the reasons developers failed to trigger any land lot for auction for the past seven months, adding the Government has not implemented a "high land-price policy".

But the prices the developers had offered in their attempts to trigger land sales were far lower than the amount fixed by the Government, he said.

Prices offered fall short

In an extreme case, the price offered was only 30% to 40% of the Government's fixed price, he added.

Mr Lau said there will not be a flat-supply vacuum in the future as suggested by some people as there is still land supply from the two railway companies and the Urban Renewal Authority.

He reiterated the Government will not resume the scheduled land auction to avoid giving the public an impression the Administration does not have a stable housing policy.