House prices up by just 1.07% y-o-y in Q1 2019

Macau’s housing market is now cooling rapidly, as slower economic growth in Mainland China is hitting Macau’s gaming sector. The average transaction price of residential units rose by 1.07% during the year to Q1 2019, the lowest growth since Q3 2016 when prices declined 2.01%. In fact, house prices fell by 2.44% q-o-q during the latest quarter.

Macau’s housing market grew strongly in the past three years, supported by robust economic growth and massive infrastructure investments. The economy was estimated to have expanded by 4.7% in 2018, down from a spectacular 9.1% in 2017, but a sharp turnaround from y-o-y declines of 0.9% in 2016, 21.6% in 2015, and 1.2% in 2014.

• The 200,000 sq. m. Taipa maritime terminal began operations in June 2017, increasing travel within Macau and its neighbouring cities, and providing direct connections to the planned light rail transit system.
• Construction of the Gongbei tunnel, the only link connecting Zhuhai with the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau bridge, started in April 2017. The bridge is scheduled to open this year.
• The Shenzhen-Zhongshan tunnel, a key infrastructure development in the Greater Pearl River Delta, is also under construction. The project, scheduled for completion in 2020, will reduce the average travel time between Shenzhen and Zhongshan from two hours to less than 30 minutes.
• Beijing has also committed to a comprehensive Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Bay Area development plan to increase connectivity, trade and investment between the three regions.

However, the housing market is now weakening, mainly due to external economic uncertainty caused by the US-China trade war and the Brexit, among others.

Rents, rental yields: no yields data available for Macau.

Recent news. Macau’s economy is expected to grow by 4.3% this year and by another 4.2% in 2020, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF).