ABSTRACT

This chapter examines more closely the relationship between middle class formation and home ownership within a rapidly changing society. Hong Kong’s economy is dominated by a large service sector with the professional and managerial personnel forming a significant part of the middle class. Homeowners in Hong Kong are far from being a homogeneous group. Difference in the time of entry to the market shapes different home ownership trajectories. To many Hong Kong people, one of the most critical social events of the 1980s was the political uncertainty on the future of Hong Kong. The home ownership picture being portrayed thus far is undeniably a picture of middle class in the making. While many Hong Kong Chinese place great emphasis on education for their offspring, many middle class people still possess little symbolic capital. In contrast to private home ownership, homeowners in the public sector are more stable.