Xia, who oversees all Hong Kong and Macau affairs, was at the Government Offices in Admiralty on Monday, meeting with local and overseas trade unions – but the Real Estate Developers Association was not one of them.

Speaking to the media on Tuesday, Stewart Leung Chi-kin, the chairman of the association’s executive committee, said he was not disappointed and stressed he and many members of the association had met with Xia in other settings.

“I won’t say that missing yesterday’s meeting is sour grapes,” Leung said.

Leung also said it is impossible for the property market to recover at once after three years of the Covid pandemic, but expected the property market to perform better around September.

“Real estate comes in second. If the economy thrives, the property market will follow and thrive, too,” Leung said.

Leung also appealed to the government to gradually scrap the “spicy measures” – introduced in the late 2010s and aiming to suppress property prices, as he noted that the measure had completed its historical mission and its staying achieves nothing more.

Leung continued that the “spicy measures” could affect overseas talents coming to the SAR as they too may buy property as they settle down in this city, which could further affect the economy.

However, it depends on the final ruling by Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po and whether the government can ease citizens’ worries about home prices soaring after the measures are gone.

As for the government requesting developers to save a certain number of units as youth hostels, as stated in last year’s Policy Address, Leung said it is a good start that can help youth development. He also praised the scheme can care for people’s livelihood and won’t raid too much of developers’ business at the same time.