Real estate loans soar 135 percent in January

New approvals of residential mortgage loans (RMLs) and commercial real estate loans (CRELs) increased significantly in January 2018 from the previous month, as shown in data released by the Monetary Authority of Macao.

In January, new RMLs approved by Macau banks grew by 14.9 percent month-to-month to MOP3.6 billion, of which new RMLs to residents – accounting for the vast majority – rose 15.2 percent to MOP3.5 billion. Meanwhile, the considerably smaller non-resident component increased 5.5 percent to MOP89.9 million.

In the same month, new CRELs surged more than 135 percent over December to MOP13 billion. Of these, new CRELs to residents, which accounted for about 62 percent of the total, rose by 51 percent to MOP8.1 billion. The non-resident component rose to MOP4.9 billion, driven mainly by new loans granted to enterprises collateralized by retail premises.

As of end-January 2018, the outstanding value of RMLs inched up 0.1 percent from the previous month to reach MOP189.7 billion, or an increase of 4.5 percent compared to January 2017. When compared to the previous month, outstanding RMLs to residents increased by 0.3 percent, while those to non-residents fell by 1.7 percent.

Meanwhile, the outstanding value of CRELs was MOP183.3 billion, up by 2.6 percent month-to-month, or 8.1 percent year-on-year. Residents accounted for 89.1 percent of the loans. Outstanding CRELs to residents and non-residents alike increased by 1.2 percent and 16 percent respectively from the previous month.

At the end of January 2018, the delinquency ratio for RMLs was 0.2 percent, while the ratio for CRELs was 0.14 percent.