HONG KONG: Hong Kong’s soaring property prices have pushed tens of thousands of families into tiny, partitioned apartments, sparking calls for creative solutions, including converting shipping containers and even water pipes into temporary homes.
The former British colony, one of the most densely populated places on Earth where individual, caged beds offer the only living space for some of the very poor, has seen home prices shatter historic records for 12 straight months.
In November, an apartment sold for HK$132,060 ($16,915) per square foot, making it the most expensive apartment per square foot in Asia.
This has forced some 200,000 individuals into tiny partitioned flats, averaging a mere 62 square feet (six square meters).
Government figures released on Wednesday show the number of households living in “inadequate housing,” including partitioned flats and industrial buildings, surged nine percent to 115,000 this year.
Hong Kong had won praise for a post-war program that put hundreds of thousands into public housing and cleared hillsides of precarious, fire-prone squatter villages, but demand has since outstripped supply, inspiring ideas for short-term solutions.
Concrete water pipes — some measuring 2.5 meters in diameter — could be converted into a 120-square-feet mini-apartment for two, complete with a shower and a toilet, according to architect James Law.
They could be stacked between the city’s highrises and utilize space otherwise going to waste, Law said, adding that he was seeking government approval.
Demand for shipping container homes has surged, with one manufacturer, Markbox, saying demand had doubled in the past year.
Online advertisements for converted containers, which are legal to build but illegal to live in, tout monthly rents of HK$3,000 to HK$5,000.
The government in the Chinese-ruled city has said it will continue to tackle the housing shortage and that it is exploring different forms of “transitional housing.”
Non-governmental groups say while pipes and containers could provide temporary reprieve, they cannot be the solution.
“We welcome any possibilities to speed up the provision of temporary housing,” said Lai Kin-kwok, convener of Platform Concerning Subdivided Flats in Hong Kong.
“But I want to stress these can only be short-term arrangements. Ultimately the government must speed up the construction of public housing.”
Thinking outside the box to ease Hong Kong’s housing crisis
Thinking outside the box to ease Hong Kong’s housing crisis
Some Warren Buffett wisdom on his last day leading Berkshire Hathaway
OMAHA, Nebraska: The advice that legendary investor Warren Buffett offered on investing and life over the years helped earn him legions of followers who eagerly read his annual letters and filled an arena in Omaha every year to listen to him at Berkshire Hathaway’s annual meetings.
Buffett’s last day as CEO is Wednesday after six decades of building up the Berkshire conglomerate. He’ll remain chairman, but Greg Abel will take over leadership.
Here’s a collection of some of Buffett’s most famous quotes from over the years:
___
“Be fearful when others are greedy, and greedy when others are fearful.”
That’s how Buffett summed up his investing approach of buying out-of-favor stocks and companies when they were selling for less than he estimated they were worth.
He also urged investors to stick with industries they understand that fall within their “circle of competence” and offered this classic maxim: “Rule No. 1: Never lose money. Rule No. 2: Never forget Rule No. 1.”
___
“After they first obey all rules, I then want employees to ask themselves whether they are willing to have any contemplated act appear the next day on the front page of their local paper to be read by their spouses, children and friends with the reporting done by an informed and critical reporter.
“If they follow this test, they need not fear my other message to them: Lose money for the firm and I will be understanding; lose a shred of reputation for the firm and I will be ruthless.”
That’s the ethical standard Buffett explained to a Congressional committee in 1991 that he would apply as he cleaned up the Wall Street investment firm Salomon Brothers. He has reiterated the newspaper test many times since over the years.
___
“You only find out who is swimming naked when the tide goes out.”
Many companies might do well when times are good and the economy is growing, but Buffett told investors that a crisis always reveals whether businesses are making sound decisions.
___
“Who you associate with is just enormously important. Don’t expect that you’ll make every decision right on that. But you are going to have your life progress in the general direction of the people you work with, that you admire, that become your friends.”
Buffett always told young people that they should try to hang out with people who they feel are better than them because that will help improve their lives. He said that’s especially true when choosing a spouse, which might be the most important decision in life.
___
“Our unwavering conclusion: never bet against America.”
Buffett has always remained steadfast in his belief in the American capitalist system. He wrote in 2021 that “there has been no incubator for unleashing human potential like America. Despite some severe interruptions, our country’s economic progress has been breathtaking.”
