Macao’s average residential property prices per square metre totalled 69,882 patacas (US$8,763) in the first half of January. When compared to the 82,383 patacas (US$10,331) recorded in the initial half of December, the figure marks a decline of 15 percent, according to stamp duty data from the Finance Bureau.
Coloane experienced the greatest drop, with its property price of 72,252 patacas (US$9,061) representing a precipitous fall of almost 30 percent against the first half of December. Meanwhile, Taipa’s property price decreased by just over 10.4 percent, plummeting to 79,474 patacas (US$9,966). Prices in the peninsula dipped by 7.9 percent to 66,737 patacas (US$8,369).
In contrast, the overall residential property transaction rate was up 30 percent, growing from 96 in the first half of December to 125 in the initial half of January.
The peninsula topped the list, with 96 transactions last month, a growth of approximately 81 percent in comparison to the 53 flats sold in December. This was followed by Coloane, which recorded 9 sales, an increase of 50 percent month-on-month. Taipa, however, saw its transactions fall by almost 46 percent, plummeting from 37 in early December to 20 in the first half of January.
[See more: Residential property price index plummets by more than 12 percent year-on-year]
The current figures mark a reversal of the results from the first half of December, which saw property transactions down by around 38 percent and property prices up by 8.3 percent, when compared to the corresponding period in November.
Despite the scrapping of market curbs last April, Macao’s property sector has failed to fully lift itself out of the quagmire of declining sales and prices.
Some local real estate professionals, however, have expressed cautious optimism, with Jimmy Lo of Centaline, noting last month that he believed the multiple-entry permit scheme for Zhuhai and Hengqin residents would benefit Macao’s economy and prevent a further decline in property prices.
As well, interest rate cuts from last year have been mentioned as a potential boost to the local property market.
