Construction of 3,300 private residential units started in the fourth quarter, down 35.3% on the previous one, the Housing Department says.

There were 1,500 units completed, down 67.4% on the previous quarter.

Taking last year's 12 months together, there were 15,000 units under construction, with 17,300 completed.

At the end of December there were 16,000 unsold units in completed projects, with another 44,000 under construction, within which 5,000 were sold by presale.