Residential mortgage loans almost halved in October

Newly approved residential mortgage loans by local banks plunged 46.8 per cent year-on-year in October, with granted equitable mortgage slashed by 62.1 per cent from one year ago, the latest statistics released by the Monetary Authority of Macau (AMCM) reveals.
In October, the local banking sector approved a total of MOP2.5 billion-worth (US$312.5 million) of residential mortgage loans, of which 98.5 per cent were granted to local residents. The loan value, compared to MOP3.6 billion granted in September, represents a drop of 31.8 per cent. In addition, residential loans to residents and non-residents registered a month-on-month decrease of 30.5 per cent and 68.3 per cent, respectively.
Meanwhile, newly approved residential mortgages collateralised by uncompleted flats fell by 69.3 per cent to MOP0.3 billion from September’s MOP1.02 billion. Some 95.4 per cent of the total loans were extended to residents, of which the value dropped 68 per cent month-on-month.
Compared with residential mortgage loans, newly approved commercial real estate loans registered a slight decrease of 3.5 per cent month-on-month, amounting to MOP10.1 billion although on an annual comparison the amount represents a growth of 162.8 per cent.
According to AMCM, 95.1 per cent of commercial property loans were granted to residents. In terms of value, those to residents dropped 7.9 per cent month-on-month while those to non-residents surged 855.7 per cent.
As at the end of the month, the local banking sector saw a total of MOP170.3 billion of outstanding value of residential mortgage, a jump of 14.1 per cent year-on-year, or 0.1 per cent month-on-month. Local residents accounted for 94.1 per cent of total outstanding value.
In addition, the outstanding value of commercial real estate loans increased 36.4 per cent year-on-year, or 3.9 per cent month-on-month, amounting to MOP159.9 billion in October. Residents accounted for 88.6 per cent of the loans.
Meanwhile, the delinquency ratio for residential loans remained at 0.08 per cent from September. On a year-on-year comparison, the ratio went up 0.02 percentage points. The ratio for commercial property loans went down 0.06 percentage points to 0.01 per cent from one year ago, remaining unchanged from September.