The real estate sector in Macao appears to be struggling to gain momentum, according to the latest stamp duty data from the Finance Bureau, which shows that there were 356 residential properties sold in the city in July, a decrease of 57 transactions or a drop of almost 14 percent when compared against the previous month’s total of 413.
Sales in the Macao peninsula witnessed a month-on-month rise of around 38 percent, reaching a total of 245 transactions. However, Taipa’s transactions plummeted by 57 percent, while Coloane’s fell by 10 percent.
The average residential property price per square metre in July, meanwhile, totalled 93,374 patacas, a decrease of 6.1 percent in comparison to June. By area, the Macao peninsula saw its average price grow by 3 percent, to a total of 90,738 patacas per square metre. The price in Taipa, however, dropped by 9.4 percent, reaching a total of 101,274 patacas. Coloane’s figure of 86,891 patacas also slumped, decreasing by roughly 14 percent in comparison to the previous month.
[See more: Average residential rents rose in Macao during the second quarter]
The data is more hopeful when expressed in quarterly terms, with the second quarter recording 1,026 transactions for residential flats, an increase of 79 percent quarter-on-quarter. Altogether, these transactions were worth 6.65 billion patacas, a jump of 99.4 percent in comparison to the first quarter.
In terms of the average price per square metre for residential property, there was an overall growth of 7.9 percent in comparison to the previous quarter. The prices in Taipa and Coloane both grew by 20.9 percent (107,601 patacas) and 0.3 percent (102,625 patacas) respectively. In contrast, the Macao Peninsula experienced a fall of 1.9 percent in its average price.
Back in April, the Macao government made an announcement to end real estate curbs in the city in order to revitalise the ailing property market. While the long-term effect of the policy shift has yet to be seen, local realtors believe that it will help to drive growth. There have been concerns, however, that Macao may ultimately end up with a sluggish market similar to Hong Kong, which has largely failed to boost its property market in spite of dismantling its restrictions back in February.
