The government’s move to pause the sale of commercial land in the upcoming fiscal year has drawn mixed views from analysts – some say it will ease a supply glut of office space while others felt it will have limited impact to the market.

The vacancy rate of Grade-A offices reached a record 17 percent in January, according to commercial real estate agency Colliers.

That translates to 14 million square feet of empty floor space, while another 5.5 million square feet will be rolled out this year and 2026.

Kathy Lee, head of research and retail consultancy at Colliers, said rental value of prime office space plunged 40 percent over the past three years.

"I think the government is very wise to stop selling any commercial land, [so as] to let the market to have some time to digest and absorb the existing available stocks," she told RTHK.

Lee added the decision to halt the sale of commercial land was not out of the blue, citing the example of the Queensway Plaza redevelopment which was put on ice amid a market downturn.

But Hannah Jeong, head of valuation and advisory services at CBRE, warned the current supply glut will take as long as 10 years to be fully absorbed.

On a separate note, the government also extended the $100 concessionary stamp duty to all properties priced at HK$4 million or below, up from HK$3 million.

Lee from Colliers welcomed the adjustment, saying it will ease the burden for homebuyers.

"The interest rates remain at a high level, so a lot of homebuyers might still find it difficult to meet their mortgage duties. I think this will help boost demand for smaller-sized units," she explained.

However, JLL Hong Kong chairman Joseph Tsang was less optimistic.

"The Budget doesn't focus much on the property market. And this measure has no stimulating effect on the housing market but will instead affect government revenue," he said in a statement.

"With the high inventory of residential properties, housing prices are likely to continue falling."