Centaline predicts “minor fall” in housing prices

2013/10/14

From：Macau Daily Times

Centaline Property advised that housing prices increased 3 to 5 percent in the 3rd quarter despite new laws and regulations being implemented in the quarter. Investors have also turned to commercial property due to the lack of residential property on the market. Despite predictions that Macau’s housing prices will experience a minor increase in the 4th quarter, Centaline also warned that prices might eventually drop because there are no buyers to sustain the high levels.
Centaline Property Director, Jacky Shek said that the supply and demand of residential property is seriously “out of balance”. Without enough supply, the prices will naturally go up. But it will be only those investors who are the most resourceful that can continue to make purchases in the market. Since these investors are only a small minority, Shek didn’t rule out that the housing prices will drop when there are no mainstream buyers able to afford to buy houses at the current price level. He commented that the Macau government should improve its housing policy and should provide more land to the market in order to increase supply.
When reviewing the performance of the residential property sector in the 3rd quarter, Noel Cheung, Senior Regional Sales Director of Centaline said that the new property presale law and the new real estate agents law, together with the special stamp duty, have greatly decreased the number of residential properties available in the market. Nevertheless, instead of pushing the housing prices down, the property owners had actually become more confident and aggressive when setting prices. As a result, the overall strike price has increased 3 to 5 percent in the 3rd quarter.
Investors also have more interest in retail property because of the lack of supply in the residential property sector. Senior Regional Sales Director Roy Ho said that businesses are expanding and requiring more space to cope with the tourists expected over the upcoming holidays. This has heated up the rental market in the retail property sector. JPL

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