Preliminary estimates suggest 2011 was one of the best years yet for the real estate sector, Macau Business reports in this month’s edition.

Ricacorp executive director Jane Liu estimates the value of residential transactions reached MOP60 billion (US$7.5 billion) last year.

That would set a new record and an increase of about 30 percent over 2010, when the all-time high was set.

The value of home sales until last October stood at MOP54.3 billion.

Ms Liu estimates annual turnover for residential properties last year stood at about 17,000 transactions.

Should that figure be confirmed when the official data is released later this year, it would represent a year-on-year decline of 5 percent.

Read the full version of this article in the January issue of Macau Business magazine, now available at selected newsstand outlets in Macau, Hong Kong bookshops, by subscription and at partner hotels, restaurants, airlines and ferry carriers in Macau.