Commercial Real Estate Loans (CRELs) approved by the Macau banking sector rose 76.7 per cent year-on-year in April when compared to the same month last year, according to official data released by the Monetary Authority of Macau (AMCM).
However, loans granted for commercial real estate hit MOP3.96 billion (US$492.9 million) in April, a 26.6 per cent month-on-month fall.
Of the overall commercial real estate loans, MOP3.91 billion, or 98.7 per cent of the total, was allocated to residents, rising by almost 100 per cent per cent year-on-year, while only MOP49.8 million worth of loans was allocated to non-residents, a considerable decrease of 81.2 per cent compared to the same month last year.
On a monthly comparison, CRELs granted to residents and non-residents both fell by 18.5 per cent and 91.7 per cent month-on-month in April, respectively.
Residential mortgage loans down monthly
Meanwhile, Residential Mortgage Loans (RMLs) saw a hike of 19 per cent year-on-year in April of this year, reaching MOP3.36 billion, however experienced a fall of 18.8 per cent compared to March.
The amount of loans granted to residents in April went down by 18.8 per from March to April , reaching MOP3.27 billion, while loans granted to non-residents fell by 11.8 per cent month-on-month to MOP89.4 million.
The ratio of mortgage loans for the acquisition of real estate was readjusted in May for four housing price categories, with the AMCM stating the measure was enacted to control real estate speculation.
The largest cut was made to the purchase of residential units costing up to MOP3.3 million by residents, with the ratio dropping from 90 per cent to 70 per cent, with non-residents seeing the loan cap reduced from 70 per cent to 60 per cent.
At the end of April this year, the gross balance of new loans for commercial real estate activities amounted to MOP169.52 billion, representing an annual increase of 1.7 per cent, while the gross balance of mortgage loans of MOP183.3 billion grew by 4.8 per cent year-on-year.
