House prices were up 1.25% during 2020

Macau’s housing market shows signs of improvement, despite the continued economic slump. The average transaction price of residential units rose by 1.25% during 2020, up from the previous year’s 3.04% fall. Quarter-on-quarter, house prices rose slightly by 0.1% during the latest quarter.

Macau’s housing market grew strongly in 2017 and 2018, supported by robust economic growth and massive infrastructure investments. The economy was estimated to have expanded by 5.4% in 2018, down from a spectacular 9.9% in 2017, but a sharp turnaround from y-o-y declines of 0.7% 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, Macau’s housing market slowed sharply in the past two years, due to slower economic growth in Mainland China, as well as the civil unrest in Hong Kong, which adversely impacted Macau’s gaming, tourism, and property sectors. The fallout from the fast-spreading COVID-19 added another blow to Macau’s already ailing economy.

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

Recent news. Macau’s economy contracted by massive 52.3% in 2020 from a year earlier, far worse than the prior year’s 4.7% fall and the worse contraction ever recorded, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The economy is projected to grow by 23.9% this year and by another 30% in 2022, based on IMF estimates.