Macau’s residential market has seen a glimmer of hope with a positive development in stamp duty on transferred units in the first half of the year.
According to the latest figures from the Financial Services Bureau, there were 413 transfers in June, up from 236 in the same period last year.
The average price per metre for the month was MOP99,489 (US$12,382), an increase of about 2.8 per cent compared to the same month last year.
In May this year, only 346 transfers were recorded, compared to 287 last year.
March and February saw only 143 and 132 cases respectively, while January saw 263.
The authorities unveiled two rounds of cooling measures last year to prop up the sagging housing market, with all major curbs removed in April.
The general downbeat sentiment was reflected by the overall house price index, which fell to 219.9 in the March-May period, a significant drop of over 12 per cent.
The gauge had previously been as high as 268.3 in the same period in 2019, before the economic hit from the Covid pandemic began to take its toll.
Quarter-on-quarter comparisons
In the second quarter, 1,028 transmission cases were recorded, compared with 538 in the previous quarter.
The average price per metre for the quarter was MOP93,118, down 1.99 per cent year on year.
Compared with the same quarter last year, this represents an increase of more than 24 percent.
In a quarterly update earlier this month, Centaline Property said that the buy-side appeared to be leaning towards first-hand offers selling at a discount of 20 to 30 per cent.
Secondary market transactions were said to have slowed significantly, accounting for only a quarter of total transactions.
