Macao’s residential property market experienced a drop in transactions during the first half of June, according to the Financial Services Bureau (also known by its Portuguese initials DSF). Stamp duty data indicates that sales totalled 144 in the first half of June, representing a drop of 11 percent in comparison to the 162 transactions that were made in the second half of May.
The Macao peninsula recorded a total of 77 transactions over this period, a decrease of around 29 percent in comparison to the last half of May. Similarly, Taipa and Coloane saw their transactions plummet by around 55 percent and 58 percent, with a total of 35 and 19 respectively.
While the sales figures were relatively weak, the average property price per square metre remained stable, with the figure totalling 92,439 patacas, an increase of almost 1 percent when compared against the 92,114 patacas seen in the second half of May.
[See more: Residential property sales are taking off after market curbs scrapped]
Despite the low sales, other data appears to show that the property sector in Macao has been slowly recovering since the government’s decision to lift all sale restrictions in April.
The transaction rate grew by roughly 28 percent from 269 to 346 from April to May. Meanwhile, the average price per square metre in May totalled 91,711 patacas, representing a surge of 5.3 percent in comparison to April’s average of 87,041 patacas.
Local industry professionals also remain optimistic that the removal of market curbs will continue to have a positive effect on the sector. Roy Ho of Centaline Macau and Zhuhai earlier predicted that sales in Macao would continue to grow, even though there are concerns that the city will face a similar predicament to the Hong Kong market, which appears to have lost its momentum several months after its government removed all sales restrictions.
