Real estate transactions up, total value down in Q4

Some 2,482 building units and parking spaces amounting to about MOP11 billion (US$1.4 billion) in total were sold in the fourth quarter of 2015, according to Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) data released yesterday
Despite the total volume of real estate transactions increasing 6.8 per cent quarter-to-quarter, the total value of real estate transactions actually decreased 11.7 per cent from the third quarter of 2015.
For the whole year of 2015, the purchase and sale of building units and parking spaces totalled 9,771 – amounting to MOP51.66 billion, down 26.1 per cent and 38.3 per cent, respectively, year-on-year.
Residential units in the fourth quarter were sold at an average price of MOP76,126 per square metre of usable area, down 9.7 per cent from the third quarter. For the whole of 2015, the average price of residential property amounted to MOP86,826 per square metre, down 13 per cent compared to the year before.
Trends
The most costly residential units were found in Coloane, with the average price at MOP96,440 per square metre in the fourth quarter and MOP103,993 per square metre for the whole year of 2015. Nevertheless, the yearly average price was 15 per cent lower than the previous year.
Meanwhile, the most costly pre-sale residential units were to be found in Taipa at MOP124,913 in the fourth quarter. But for the whole year of 2014 the most costly pre-sale residential units were found on the Macao Peninsula at MOP176,701.
When it comes to the age of a building, residential units completed within 5 years or less were priced at an average of MOP112,957 in 2015.
Residential units built more than 20 years ago sold for MOP64,883 per square metre last year.