Realtor finds core of shop sales relocated to livelihood districts
Property transactions involving shops in main streets or roads in traditional residential districts have gained in the first half of the year, an executive at a regional realtor said.
In contrast, the focus areas for retail property of pre-Covid times, such as ZAPE and Avenida de Almeida Ribeiro, more commonly known as Sun Ma Lo, have decreased in activity.
Lei Siu Seng, district director of industrial and commercial properties at Centaline Macau, disclosed that the first half of the year saw property transactions involving shops mainly in Areia Preta, Avenida de Horte e Costa and Rua da Barca, among other traditional residential districts.
Transactions mainly involved properties that had a price tag below HKD20 million per property and HKD10,000 per square foot.
Another district that gained in activity for property transactions was Taipa.
The realtor pointed out that during pre-Covid times, Taipa had not been a popular district in terms of retail property transactions. He recalled that by Covid times, on average, Taipa only recorded about five transactions each year.
However, in the past half-a-year, there were more than 10 transactions, with two such sales involving price tags higher than HKD100 million each. Lei noted that these two transactions were closed by the shops’ tenants, adding that most of the other transactions in Macau were facilitated by users as well.
The reason behind this, the realtor explained, is that these shops are located in prime or more preferable areas in Taipa, which encouraged able tenants to purchase the properties for better security in the future.
Meanwhile, he pointed out that in the first half of the year, there were zero property transactions in casino areas in ZAPE and only two in Avenida de Almeida Ribeiro.
Looking to the future, the realtor expects retail property transactions will be supported by users and tenants in the second half of the year. Nonetheless, he is not very confident about a rising trend in prices even if the current outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 infections ease.
Official data from the government shows that the first quarter of the year saw 78 retail property transactions. Centaline expects the second quarter to be only about 60. Judging by the estimate, the number of transactions has fallen by 30% year-on-year and the amount by 20%, summing to about HKD1.44 billion.
In the residential property market, the current outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 infections has put transactions on hold. Lo Chon Meng, district director for prime residences, estimates there would be about 1,600 transactions of residential properties in the first six months of this year, 50% fewer year-on-year. Price-per-square-foot retains a declining inclination among all residential property offers, he added.
The numbers of property transactions of office and industrial premises in the first six months are estimated to falls 34% and 40% year-on-year, respectively. Both markets will not see strong bounces in the coming six months, Centaline estimates.
