According to the latest figures released by the Buildings Department (BD), only one private residential project commenced construction in December 2022 (based on the notification of commencement of listed building works received by the BD), involving 114 units, a drop of 39% month-on-month.

The cumulative number of units commenced in 2022 was only 8,361, a sharp drop of 55.7% year-on-year and the second lowest in the past eight years.

According to Mr Chan Hoi Chiu, head of property research at Ricacorp, the pace of construction starts is expected to accelerate this year as the normal customs clearance process resumes.

According to the data, one private residential project, involving 114 units, started construction in December at 135 Tai Hang Road, Jardine's Lookout, the only private residential project to start construction in the fourth quarter of last year on Hong Kong Island.

In the fourth quarter of last year, only 353 units were commenced in Hong Kong, reflecting the extremely slow progress of construction in the quarter.

Together with the above projects, a total of 24 private residential projects will commence construction in 2022, involving a total of 8,361 units.

Among them, Kowloon has the highest number of construction units, involving 11 projects with a total of 4,312 units, accounting for about 51.6% of the total number of units.

In the New Territories, 7 private residential projects with 3,763 units were under construction, accounting for 45% of the total.

On Hong Kong Island, there were 6 projects with 286 units, accounting for 3.4% of the total.