Macau’s property market reels from coronavirus as transactions fall to lowest levels since financial crisis
- Residential sales at their lowest levels since 2009, commercial property sales at a record low, official figures show
- Gambling and tourism industry needs to recover for property market to bounce back, analysts say
Macau’s property market has been dealt a heavy blow on all fronts by the coronavirus outbreak, and its recovery will need to rely on the city’s beleaguered tourism and gaming industry, analysts said.
Residential property transactions in the first quarter of the year were at the lowest levels since 2009, according to data from Macau’s Financial Services Bureau. Some 1,016 homes were sold in the first three months of 2020, a 22 per cent drop from 1,379 in the same period last year.
The average price of a home was 93,133 patacas (US$11,647) per square metre in March, a 7.5 per cent drop from 100,636 patacas in January as a result of the coronavirus outbreak, according to statistics from the Financial Services Bureau.
Commercial property transactions hit a record low of 50 in the first quarter, the lowest level since the return of Macau to Chinese rule in 1999. Previously, the lowest level was 80 recorded in the fourth quarter of 2008.
“The impact of the Covid-19 has hit all sectors of Macau’s property market,” said Philip Pang, a partner at Telok Real Estate Partners. The Hong Kong-based developer focuses on developing small flats for rent in Macau, and has also launched a co-living project in the city.
“Transaction volumes are very low, and we are starting to see a rise in distress situations as property owners are selling at really low prices to cash out.”
There are very few non-local buyers of homes in Macau now, according to Thomas Lam, executive director at Knight Frank.