The figure is now more than double the target set by the authority – to provide housing to low-income families who cannot afford private rental flats at an average waiting time of three years.

As of the end of March, there were 147,500 general applications and another 97,700 applications for non-elderly singletons, totaling 245,200 -- about 3,300 less than the figure for the last quarter ending December.

But the average waiting time for general applications grew to 6.1 years as of the end of March -- 0.1 years longer than the figure for the last quarter.

Meanwhile, the average waiting time for applications for non-elderly singletons rose to 4.1 years during the same period -- 0.1 years longer than the figure for last quarter.

The authority explained that the average waiting time for the applications had been prolonged due to the phased intake of several large-scale public rental estate projects, including Queens Hill Estate in Fanling, Hoi Tat Estate, and Pak Tin Estate in Sham Shui Po.

“As a result, a large number of general applicants who had been waiting for a long time were housed in the public rental housing, and their waiting time was thus reflected in the latest average waiting time,” said the authority.