New residential mortgage loans increase 10.7 pct in August

By
Joao Santos Filipe

The number of new residential mortgage loans increased 10.7 per cent year-on-year during August to MOP5.56 billion (US$669.68 million) from MOP5.05 billion, according to the Monetary Authority of Macau (AMCM).
The largest share of the new mortgage loans was approved by Macau banks to local residents, in the amount of MOP3.59 billion, some 64.6 per cent of the total amount of new loans. Nevertheless, new mortgage loans to residents decreased 23.1 per cent year-on-year from MOP4.66 billion.
Residential loans to non-residents expanded 421.5 per cent year-on-year rate to around MOP2 billion from MOP383.02 million.
New residential mortgage loans collateralised by uncompleted units also decreased but at a 14.7 per cent year-on-year rate. While in August 2014 it amounted to MOP1.37 billion, in last August it totalled MOP1.17 billion.
The territory’s residents were responsible for MOP1.09 billion of mortgage loans collateralised by uncompleted units, a decrease of 14.6 per cent year-on-year from MOP1.27 billion. Non-residents took MOP81.05 million of collateralised loans by uncompleted units, down 16.3 per cent in comparison to August last year when it amounted to MOP96.82 million.
Commercial real estate loans
During the eighth month of the year, new commercial real estate loans approved by banks operating in the territory declined 11.8 per cent year-on-year to MOP9.72 billion from MOP11.03 billion in August 2014.
Again, Macau residents were responsible for the largest share of commercial real estate loans, accounting for 99.2 per cent, at MOP9.64 billion. Still, in relation to the previous year there was a decline of 10.7 per cent from MOP9.64 billion.
At the same time, non-residents were responsible for MOP80.94 million of commercial real estate loans. This is a value 65.4 per cent down year-on-year from MOP234.14 million.
At the end of August 2015, the delinquency ratio for residential mortgage loans was 0.09 per cent, up 0.02 percentage points from a month ago and from end-August 2014. The ratio for commercial real estate loans remained virtually unchanged from a month ago at 0.04 per cent or down 0.03 percentage points from a year ago.