Macao recorded sales of 236 residential properties in March, up by 34 percent in comparison to the 176 transactions recorded in February. That’s according to stamp duty data published yesterday by the Finance Bureau.
By locality, the peninsula recorded a 43.65 percent jump in residential property sales, with the figure rising from 126 in February to 181 in March. Taipa experienced strong growth as well, as its sales surged by almost 39 percent from 36 to 50 transactions between February and March.
Coloane saw sales plummet by around 64 percent, however, from 14 apartments in February to just 5 in March.
While the overall sales of residential units witnessed strong growth in March, the average price per square metre fell by 2.8 percent, from 76,243 patacas (US$9,551) in February to 74,041 patacas (US$9,275) in March.
Both Taipa and Coloane saw month-on-month drops of 9.45 percent and 17.9 percent in their average prices. Taipa’s rate fell from 82,471 patacas (US$10,331) to 74,678 patacas (US$9,355) between February and March, while Coloane’s price decreased from 83,571 patacas (US$10,469) to 68,606 patacas (US$8,594).
[See more: Residential mortgage loans plunged by over 45 percent in February]
Only the peninsula recorded a marginal increase of 1.37 percent, with its price growing from 72,986 patacas (US$9,143) to 73,988 patacas (US$9,268).
Overall, the current figures suggest that Macao’s real estate sector has yet to recover from the ongoing slump. Despite the sales increase last month, the total number of transactions in recent years remains substantially less in comparison to the boom years of the early 2010s, which saw monthly sales surpassing 1,000.
Other metrics that underscore the subdued state of the local property market include the amount of new residential mortgage loans approved by the city’s banks. Government data indicates that the value of such loans plummeted by some 45 percent between January and February of this year.
Although the SAR government dispensed with property market curbs last April in an effort to revive the ailing market, the measure’s long-term impact appears to have been muted at best.
Local realtors such as Ung Choi Kun, the head of the Association of Property Agents and Realty Developers of Macau, have called for the government to take further action to boost the sector, with Ung describing the current market environment as “unfavourable.”
