The Housing Authority on Thursday said there is still a strong interest in Home Ownership Scheme flats, despite the latest batch attracting a smaller number of applications than the last round.

Some 170,000 people applied for one of around 9,100 flats in Kai Tak, Kwun Tong, Tuen Mun and Yuen Long this year, the authority said. When a similar number of flats were made available last year, there were more than 240,000 applicants.

Speaking to reporters after a draw to allocate the latest flats, the chairwoman of the authority's subsidised housing committee, Cleresa Wong, said one in 18 applicants will be successful this year, up from one in 27 last time.

Wong said the over-subscription rate shows there is still demand for government-subsidised flats.

"Our economy isn't doing great recently with interest rate hikes and a weak market sentiment. In face of these conditions, such an over-subscription rate has shown that people's demand for flats sold under the Home Ownership Scheme has been stable and high," she said.

The authority also said it has received around 78,000 applications for flats sold under the White Form Secondary Market Scheme, which offers second-hand subsidised flats to people who do not live in public housing.