Despite all the doom and gloom over the visa restrictions, the Macau Statistics and Census Service indicated that 8,396 real estate sale and purchase contracts with a total value of MOP8.0 billion were made in the first half of 2007, up by 30.6% and 65.5% respectively year-on-year. In the second quarter of 2007, a total of 3,849 real estate sale and purchase contracts, involving MOP3.91 billion were made, up by 19.4% and 50.4% respectively over the same quarter of 2006, but decreased by 18.4% and 4.6% respectively compared with the previous quarter.

In the first half of 2007, the total value of mortgage credits granted reached MOP60.34 billion, up by 40.6% year-on-year. In the second quarter of 2007, value of mortgage credits amounted to MOP53.42 billion, of which those relating to the purchase of real estate was MOP1.78 billion, which increased by 32.7% and 51.3% respectively over the same quarter of 2006. Compared with the first quarter of 2007, the total value of mortgage credits surged notably by 6.7 times, while those relating to purchase of real estate fell by 3.0%.

According to the information from Finance Services Bureau, in the first half of 2007, a total of 19,341 building units were transacted in the property market that amounted to MOP 26.89 billion. In the second quarter of 2007, a total of 9,017 building units totalled MOP12.89 billion were transacted, of which residential units shared 68.8% (6,202), involving MOP11.12 billion. Among all the units transacted in the second quarter, 3,579 were new building units that were still within the property tax exemption period and their value amounted to MOP8.76 billion.

The average transaction price of residential units was MOP14,140 per square meter of usable area in the second quarter of 2007, up by 41.3% and 13.7% over the same quarter of 2006 and the first quarter of 2007 respectively. The average price of the residential units in the Macao Peninsula was MOP12,918, which increased by 47.5% and 16.2% compared with the same quarter of 2006 and the first quarter of 2007 respectively. The average price of those in Taipa amounted to MOP17,790 per square meter.

Meanwhile, the average transaction price of industrial units was MOP4,137 per square meter of usable area, up by 7.9% over the same quarter of 2006, but decreased by 3.0% compared with the first quarter of 2007.

In addition, the average transaction price of office units amounted to MOP21,639 per square meter of usable area, up by 22.6% over the first quarter of 2006, but down slightly by 0.4% over the first quarter of 2007. The office units in Baixa de Macau recorded the highest average, at MOP25,349 per square meter whereas those in ZAPE had the lowest average, at MOP19,391.

Source : Statistics and Census Service

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