Home values are being buoyed by growing transaction volume and rising demand, prompting the government to address the issue of housing affordability for middle income earners

Official data based on stamp duty records show that 2,381 homes valued at MOP5.14 billion were sold in the first two months of this year – a clear indicator of the property market’s upward momentum.
But an even rosier picture is painted by Centaline Property Agency (Macau), which estimates that the total number of residential transactions in the first quarter of 2010 is more than 6,000.

Brisk sales
According to the agency, the brisk sale of several new residential properties launched lately, will probably further prop up housing prices in Macau as current homeowners are offered more options to trade up for newer and better homes.
It also points out that potential buyers hunting for bargains in the secondary market are likely to be disappointed because most of the sellers are standing firm on their asking price in the wake of the robust economic recovery.
To show its confidence in the local property market, Centaline will open a new branch this month and increase its staff to 120, after seeing its presence in Macau expanded to 5 outlets in April.

Affordability
Amid rising property prices, affordability has re-emerged as a pressing social issue.
In a bid to ease the inflationary pressure of mass-market residential properties, the government has announced that it will put up a plot of land for auction within this year and the site will be designated for the development of small-sized residential units.
In a related development, the government is also encouraging developers to convert under-used industrial buildings into mass-market residential properties.
The authorities have received several applications of this kind since the scheme was launched in March.

Two-pronged
With this two-pronged approach, the government is expected to make homes more affordable for middle income earners, while avoiding affecting the healthy growth of the high-end residential market.

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