Residential price index confirms health of sector

The residential price index saw its fifth consecutive quarter of growth in the second quarter of the year, as prices across the board increased during the period, according to data from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC).
The index saw a 3.7 per cent quarter-to-quarter increase, reaching 253.0, according to the data.
The index highlights a higher evolution in units with a usable floor area of 50 to 74.9 square metres (281.7) – as they increased by 5.7 per cent quarter-to-quarter – rather than in units with a floor area of 100 square metres or more (232.1), which only rose 4.3 per cent when compared to the previous quarter.

Peninsula outperformed
DSEC also signalled how, overall, Coloane and Taipa prices grew more than those of residential units on the Peninsula. Overall indices for the Macau Peninsula (253.7) and Taipa and Coloane (249.9) rose by 3.6 per cent and 4.3 per cent, respectively. The index for existing residential units (259.6) saw the opposite trend, as the index on the Peninsula increased 4.5 per cent, to 246.7, while that of Taipa and Coloane increased just 4.0 per cent, to 318.2. Year-on-year, however the Peninsula’s existing residential units saw a 14.3 per cent uptick, while those of Taipa and Coloane saw a 21.7 per cent increase.

Age matters
DSCE data indicates that the pre-sale residential units index (247.2) increased by 6.0 per cent quarter-to-quarter, also seeing a 28.2 per cent year-on-year increase. Units under five years of age saw a 22.3 per cent year-on-year and a 6.6 per cent increase in the index, reaching 241.0, while those between 11 and 20 years saw a 17 per cent year-on-year increase and a 4.9 per cent increase in the index, to 236.6.