Property transactions point to a healthy realty sector

The DSEC reported that a total of 4,589 building units and parking spaces were purchased and sold in the second quarter of 2017 as per Stamp Duty records. The total value of transactions was MOP30.10 billion, up by 37.5 per cent and 67.9 per cent respectively quarter-to-quarter. Purchases and sales of residential units totalled 3,562 with the total value amounting to MOP25.64 billion. Meanwhile, purchases and sales of existing residential units totalled 2,879, amounting to MOP18.10 billion.
The DSEC also announced that in regards to the average price per square metre of usable area, the overall average price of residential units increased by 14.8 per cent quarter-to-quarter to MOP104,263.
The figures show that most of the transactions in Taipa were pre-sale residential units and new dwellings completed within five years or less, accounting for 57.9 per cent of the total number of transactions in the district, up notably by 38.4 percentage points from the previous quarter. The DSEC stated that this indirectly drove up the average price of residential units in Taipa (MOP120,525) by 24.1 per cent. Meanwhile, the average prices of residential units in Coloane (MOP132,696) and Macau Peninsula (MOP90,331) went up by 8.8 per cent and 5.2 per cent respectively.
The average price of office units increased by 10.6 per cent quarter-to-quarter to MOP115,432 per square metre, while that of industrial units decreased by 9.7 per cent to MOP50,819, the DSEC states.
In the second quarter of 2017, a total of 4,102 real estate purchase and sale contracts were signed, with the number of properties involved (4,118) rising by 1.0 per cent quarter-to-quarter. Meanwhile, 3,737 mortgage contracts were signed, with the number of properties involved (5,383) going up by 26.8 per cent, the DSEC reported.
In regards to construction in the private sector, as of the second quarter of 2017, there were 20,240 residential units at the design stage, 10,179 under construction (not yet inspected) and 1,227 under inspection. In the second quarter, 183 residential units were issued construction permits, with a total floor area of 15,000 square metres, representing quarter-to-quarter decreases of 93.7 per cent and 94.6 per cent respectively. Moreover, 2,885 residential units were issued licences of use, with a total floor area of 194,000 square metres, up substantially by 462.4 per cent and 311.6 per cent respectively quarter-to-quarter, the DSEC concluded.