Residential property prices continue to drop amid economic headwinds

The overall residential property price index for July – September 2022 decreased by 1.7% over the previous period (June – August 2022) to 250.4 as the city faces continued economic downturn due to the pandemic.

The indices for the Macau Peninsula (249.7) and Taipa & Coloane (253.2) dropped by 2.1% and 0.3% respectively, according to data from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC).

The data was previously forecasted by a real estate agency, which predicted that real estate prices would remain low despite the expectation of better tourism prospects.

According to Centaline Property, the main reason for this prediction is the less-than-ideal external factors such as increasing interest rates, plunging stock prices, military and political crises, as well as an uncertain future job market.

The index for existing residential units (268.1) went down by 1.6%; the index for those in the Macau Peninsula (259.3) dropped by 2.2%, while the index for those in Taipa & Coloane (303.1) climbed by 0.1%.

Meanwhile, analyzed by quarter, the overall residential property price index in the third quarter of 2022 decreased by 3.2% from the second quarter. The indices for existing and pre-sale residential units fell by 3.0% and 4.7% respectively.

Following the June 18 outbreak and with July recording only 12 transactions – marking a new low in recent years – data shows that transactions quickly increased in August and September, with an estimated 25 and 30 transactions for each month, respectively. LV