Local developer Liu Chak Wan, whose company paid about 1.42 billion patacas for two adjacent plots of land in Fai Chi Kei, said yesterday he expected the city’s property prices to remain “stable” for the next two years after which they would increase again.
Liu, a member of the government’s top advisory Executive Council (ExCo), made the remarks after attending a reception at MGM in Nape. ExCo comprises 11 members.
Liu’s company bought two plots in 2008 in the first public land auction since the establishment of the Macau Special Administration Region (MSAR) in 1999.
Asked by reporters about the latest development of the two plots, Liu said that three months ago his company collected data on the plots and piling was now underway.
He also said that building construction on the plots was expected to be completed within three or four years. He said that the development will have a height of 90 metres.
Asked by reporters for his forecast about the city’s property prices in the next few years, Liu said prices would be remain “stable” for at least two years.
“They will not increase at the rate they did last year…they will remain stable but the stable period will only last for two years and then they will rise [again],” Liu said, adding that construction costs had increased 100 percent since his company finished building The Praia in Fai Chi Kei, now standing at about 1,800 to 2,200 patacas per square foot.
“Meanwhile, it’s very hard for a developer to find a plot for [building] residential buildings….When we finish developing the plots we have now we are done,” Liu said.
Asked for his comments on whether the city’s current property prices are “reasonable”, Liu said the price was decided by supply and demand.
“The price is reasonable if there are developers who are willing to build, there are people willing to buy and people willing to sell,” Liu said.
He also said the drop in the city’s gross gaming revenue would not affect the local property market.
Macau’s property prices are reported to be among the highest in the world. Community leaders say that most locals are no longer able to buy a home in the private market.
According to official statistics, the city’s average property price per square metre stood at 97,386 patacas in September. In Taipa, the price averaged at 111,677 patacas per square metre.
(macaunews/macaupost)
