Macao’s property market remains sluggish in spite of the lifting of punitive stamp duties in April. That’s according to the latest data from the Statistics and Census Service, which shows an almost 1 percent decline in the residential property price index for March to May of this year.
The index now stands at 219.9, compared to 222 in the previous rolling three-month period of February to April.The current indices for the Macao Peninsula (217.1) and Taipa and Coloane (230.7) dropped by 1.2 percent and 0.1 percent respectively.
In comparison with the period from March to May 2023, the overall residential property price index has declined by 12.5 percent, with the indices for the Macao Peninsula and Taipa and Coloane dropping by 13.1 percent and 10.6 percent respectively.
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Analysed by age of building, the indices for residential units of buildings of all age categories decreased between March and May, except the index for those of 5 years old or less, which recorded a rise of 3.9 percent. The index for pre-sale residential units (244.3) dropped by 3.1 percent.
The indices for larger residential units (with a usable floor area between 75 and 99.9 square metres) and small units (a floor area of less than 50 square metres) decreased by 3 percent and 1.8 percent respectively, while medium-sized apartments (with floor area between 50 and 74.9 square metres) showed a 0.8 percent increase.
There is a glimmer of hope for sellers and realtors, however. Stamp duty data published by the Financial Services Bureau shows that 346 residential property transactions were made in May, an increase of roughly 28 percent month-on-month.
