A total of 235 residential properties were sold in Macao in August, a decrease of around 19 percent in comparison to the 291 units recorded the month before.
Stamp duty data from the Finance Service Bureau indicates that property sales fell across Macao’s three main localities. Coloane experienced the sharpest drop, with its transactions halving to just 6 units in August.
Next was Taipa, which saw only 37 units sold, down by 26 percent (13 units) month-on-month. The peninsula also faced a considerable drop of roughly 16 percent, with its transactions falling from 229 units in July to 192 units in August.
The average residential property price per square metre in August declined as well, totalling 80,370 patacas – a drop of 6 percent month-on-month.
By locality, the peninsula and Taipa both witnessed an increase, with the former’s average price rising by roughly 8 percent, from 76,674 patacas to 82,976 patacas between July and August. Prices in Taipa grew as well, jumping by around 4 percent, from 69,092 patacas in July to 71,897 patacas in August.
In contrast, transaction prices in Coloane fell from 91,664 patacas to 78,425 patacas between July and August, a drop of approximately 14 percent.
Other recently published data suggests that Macao’s ailing real estate sector has yet to fully rebound. Earlier this week, figures from the Statistics and Census Service showed that the SAR’s residential property price index totalled 194.0 between May and July, a drop of 1.1 percent when compared to the previous April to June period.
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The data for property loans was similarly unpromising, with the value of new commercial real estate loans in July totalling 284.24 million patacas, a dip of nearly 85 percent month-on-month.
New residential mortgages fared better, with a total value of 1.05 billion patacas in July, down 0.3 percent month-on-month.
The current decline of Macao’s property sector stands in stark contrast to the industry’s heyday during the 2010s. At that time, sales peaked at over 10,000 units per year, while average prices per square metre hit rates as high as 111,000 patacas.
Last April, the SAR government attempted to revive the market by removing all market restrictions, although that has proven to be unsuccessful.
Local realtors have weighed in on the situation, with Ung Choi Kun, the head of the Association of Property Agents and Realty Development, telling local media in February that the local real estate sector had found itself “in an unfavourable environment” and that the government needed to boost confidence among the public and investors.
Meanwhile, the Macau General Association of Real Estate has suggested a multi-pronged approach to reviving the market, urging the government to simplify the tax system and lower its rates, set up an investment residency programme and lure high-earning and well-educated talents to the city.
