Local agents selling overseas property allegedly left unregulated

A man on a bicycle rides past cranes operating at a residential construction development in the Haizhu district of Guangzhou

The organizer of a seminar on the purchasing of apartments in Hengqin has pointed out that the Macau government does not have the legal framework to regulate local property agents over the promotion of properties outside the MSAR. He also called on consumers to pay attention to the laws and regulations of the countries or regions where the properties are located.
The seminar “Hengqin – new district?” took place on Friday at the Centro Pastoral Diocesano da Juventude. The organizer, Caruso Fong, told the Times that the seminar mainly focused on the issues that people should consider when purchasing properties in Hengqin. He claimed that most of the Hengqin flats are currently available on the market as pre-sale properties have yet to obtain official permission.
“Without official permission, there is a high risk for those who want to buy [those properties],” he said.
While he has not heard of any incidents where Macau residents have suffered any losses after purchasing properties in Hengqin, Caruso Fong said that one of the attendants shared a story about another mainland district, Nansha. “The attendant said one of their relatives had brought property at Nansha. However, the pre-sale property they bought was left unfinished due to a series of issues. In fact, the conditions of Nansha and Hengqin were very similar. They are both [districts] that [were] especially developed by the central government,” he said.
Moreover, Mr Fong pointed out that while it is very difficult for Macau to regulate property sales outside the territory, he thinks it is worth considering whether it is problematic for local property agents to promote pre-sale flats. “There [are] still no regulations on buying properties overseas… I think it is necessary for the Macau government to issue instructions or regulations on local agents’ promoting overseas properties in Macau,” he said. JPL