The chief executive of a leading Hong Kong property group has declared the end of a “golden era” for the territory’s residential developers as the government takes an increasingly active hand in boosting housing supply.

“Hong Kong real estate is no longer a totally free market,” said Donald Choi, chief executive at Chinachem, a large unlisted developer and one of the top sellers of new flats in the city. “The government wants to take more initiative in controlling how land and housing is supplied.”

Choi said Hong Kong’s government had continued to launch tenders for new plots of land for building, despite lacklustre demand after several years of strain for the city’s economy. Previous administrations have typically halted land auctions when the city’s economy slowed in order to put a floor under prices.