Stamp duty data from the Financial Services Bureau indicates that 283 residential properties were sold in April, up by 19.9 percent in comparison to the 236 transactions recorded in March.
All three main areas of Macao – the peninsula, Taipa and Coloane – saw their sales rate grow in April, although Coloane experienced the largest jump, with its transactions rising from 5 in March to 12 in April.
The peninsula witnessed strong sales numbers as well, with 219 residential units sold, a nearly 21 percent increase over the 181 flats reported in March.
Taipa’s growth was more muted, with the area’s transaction number reaching 52, up from the 50 dwellings sold in March.
The overall average residential property price per square metre also rose slightly by 1.54 percent between March and April, increasing from 74,041 patacas to 75,183 patacas (US$9,327).
Coloane again registered the strongest growth in April, with its average price surging by 28.42 percent, from 68,606 patacas in March to 88,108 patacas (US$10,936) in April.
Taipa also performed robustly, as its April total of 82,627 patacas (US$10,256) represents a month-on-month growth of 10.64 percent.
In contrast, the peninsula’s residential prices in April fell by 2.84 percent, slipping to 71,882 patacas (US$8,922).
[See more: March saw jumps in Macao’s property loan approvals, compared with February]
Statistics from the first quarter of this year paints a more subdued picture, however. According to the Statistics and Census Service, 754 residential properties were sold over this period, a drop of 130 units when compared to the fourth quarter of 2024.
Meanwhile, the property sales in the first three months of this year amounted to 3.69 billion patacas (US$458 million), plummeting 27.4 percent quarter-on-quarter.
Existing residential units saw their first quarter transaction figure dip by 17.6 percent against the previous quarter to 644 units. Similarly, their value plummeted by 29 percent, falling to 3.2 billion patacas (US$397 million).
By contrast, the transaction rate of pre-sale residential units rose by 7.8 percent over the previous quarter, hitting 110 flats. Its sales value, however, slid to 488 million patacas (US$60 million), a drop of 15.2 percent.
The overall average price per square metre totalled 71,859 patacas (US$8,919) in the first quarter, down by 5.5 percent against the 76,071 patacas from the quarter before.
When analysed by area, the peninsula, Taipa and Coloane all experienced drops of 2.6 percent, 3.6 percent and 24.5 percent in their average prices.
In response to their industry’s gradual decline in recent years, Macao realtors such as Ung Choi Kun of the Association of Property Agents and Realty Developments of Macau have called on the government to take action to ameliorate the “unfavourable” environment in which the industry is currently operating in.
