New available flats jump fivefold in Q1

The city saw more than a fivefold increase in the number of private homes ready for occupation in the first quarter of this year.
According to the latest data released by the Land, Public Works and Transport Bureau (DSSOPT), occupation permits were issued to nine private residential projects, delivering about 460 units in total in the first quarter, some 5.7 times that of the same period last year.
Of these 460 new homes ready for occupation, 390 are from two high-rise residential projects, the DSSOPT data stated.
In the first quarter, there were also 16 private home projects completed and undergoing government inspection, which could provide 1,140 housing units. Over 60 per cent or 710 of these are from 14 housing projects on the Macau Peninsula.
The first quarter has been a time when the city’s number of transactions and the respective value of property units and parking spaces have seen a plunge, according to information published by the Statistics and Census Service yesterday.
Some 1,883 building units and parking spaces were transacted in the first quarter, which is 12.7 per cent less than the previous quarter and 51 per cent lower than the same period last year. The value of first quarter property transactions also plunged 55 per cent year-on-year to MOP10.1 billion (US$1.26 billion).
Meanwhile, the average price of residential units in Macau stood at MOP89,541 per square metre of saleable area, down 5.5 per cent quarter-on-quarter but has edged up by about 0.7 per cent when compared with the same period last year.