More than 99 percent of homeowners at the fire-damaged Wang Fuk Court in Hong Kong have accepted a government buy-out offer, with only 17 households remaining as holdouts after the scheme closed yesterday. By the 5pm deadline, 1,967 of the estate’s 1,984 flat owners—representing 99.1 percent—had returned acceptance letters for the repurchase plan. Of those, 1,559 owners, or 78.6 percent, have signed formal sale and purchase agreements.

The government plans to proceed with compulsory acquisition for the remaining 17 flats, which may result in lower compensation for those owners. The buy-back offer primarily covers seven of the eight blocks in the estate that were severely impacted by fire, with Wang Chi House—the sole block spared—still involved in follow-up arrangements, adding approximately HK$1 billion to the overall cost of the scheme. On-site redevelopment of the estate has been ruled out.

Compensation rates have been set at HK$8,000 or HK$10,500 per square foot, depending on whether owners had paid the land premium. Homeowners are able to apply the compensation toward purchases in the private housing market or participate in a special sales exercise to acquire new subsidized housing.

Deputy Financial Secretary Michael Wong Wai-lun stated that the offer represented a 30 percent premium over pre-fire valuations and emphasized that the government would not entertain negotiations as would typically occur in private sales. Wong acknowledged that some residents viewed the compensation as inadequate but cautioned that compulsory acquisition would mean significantly lower payouts.

Vincent Ho Kui-yip, a former president of the Hong Kong Institute of Surveyors, described the compensation as generous, particularly given that Wang Fuk Court is over 40 years old. He noted that the offer exceeded recent transaction prices for other flats under the Home Ownership Scheme in Tai Po. Pre-fire market valuations for flats in the estate were estimated to range between HK$6,000 and HK$8,000 per square foot.

Some lawmakers have attributed resistance from a small number of owners to a variety of factors—including emotional attachments to the homes, misunderstandings about the compensation terms, unresolved inheritance matters, and family disputes. Interviews with several residents determined not to sell revealed that, for many, no financial package can adequately replace the loss of their long-established homes and community relationships.