The government’s removal of punitive duties in April could be bearing fruit for Macao’s ailing real estate sector, which saw a boost in residential property transactions and prices last month.
Stamp duty data published by the Financial Services Bureau show that 346 residential property transactions were made in May, an increase of roughly 28 percent month-on-month.
The peninsula registered a transaction rate of 226, a jump of around 13 percent in comparison to April. Similarly, Taipa and Colaone saw significant increases in their figures, with 73 and 47 sales respectively, representing a rise of approximately 30 percent and 235 percent in comparison to April.
The average price per square metre in May meanwhile grew by 5.3 percent month-on-month, with a total of 91,711 patacas.
In an interview with local media, the director of Centaline Macau and Zhuhai Hengqin Property, Roy Ho, said that before the property curbs were scrapped, the amount of new property transactions totalled only 13 between 20 March and 19 April.
[See more: Residential property prices fell by 2 percent between February and April]
With the complete removal of the measures – originally imposed to curb speculation – sales jumped to 120 between 20 April and 19 May. Ho also pointed out that sales from 20 May to 19 June had already reached 300.
As to whether or not momentum will fade – as it appears to have for the Hong Kong market, where similar cubs were lifted in February – Ho said he believed there was still room for the sales in Macao to increase.
The realtor noted that before the implementation of curbs, there were at least 1,000 transactions a month in the local market. At present, there are around 400 transactions.
Bridge Real Estate director Chan Chi Kit was similarly optimistic about the property prices, noting that figures have increased by 5 percent in the two months following the scrapping of punitive duties.
The Macao government lifted all its restrictions on the sale of local property in April after lobbying from the real estate sector, which had been suffering from low sales and falling prices.
