The value of new residential and commercial property loans approved last December fell significantly month on month, according to data released yesterday by the Monetary Authority of Macao.
It said the amount of new residential mortgage loans in December totalled 1.01 billion patacas (US$126.3 million), a 17.9 percent drop in comparison to November’s 1.23 billion patacas. Commercial real estate loans saw a fall of 22.7 percent , with the total dipping to 685.51 million patacas (US$85.7 million).
The latest figures only add to the growing woes of Macao’s property market, which recorded only 3,057 residential property transactions last year, a small sum in comparison to annual transactions of around 7,000 to 10,000 that were recorded from roughly a decade earlier. At the last peak, Macao saw transaction rates of 15,777 in 2010 and 15,469 in 2011.
[See more: Top realtor calls on officials to restore public confidence in Macao’s property market]
In response to the industry’s poor performance, the head of the Association of Property Agents and Realty Developers of Macau, Ung Choi Kun, urged the authorities to do more to restore the public’s confidence in the sector, which he said was conducting business “in an unfavourable environment.”
Speaking to local media on Monday, Ung pitched the idea of conducting land auctions to facilitate urban renewal housing projects in the old neighbourhoods, which would stimulate the property market. “First, we need replacement housing, allowing those willing to relocate to purchase new homes with government assistance,” the property expert said. “This benefits not just the real estate sector, but also the financial industry.”
Despite the less than stellar results over the past year, some local real estate experts remain cautiously optimistic, arguing that the interest rate cuts of last year and the implementation of the multiple-entry permits for Hengqin and Zhuhai residents will eventually be beneficial to the market.
