Local banks newly approved residential mortgage loans have registered a jump of 91.1 per cent to MOP5.4 billion (US$674.5 million) for May compared to the month before, driven by those of off-plan homes purchasers multiplying nearly fivefold, the latest statistics released yesterday by the Monetary Authority of Macao (AMCM) show.
In May, residential mortgage loans to local residents amounted to MOP5.28 billion, which accounted for 97.9 per cent of the total. The amount represents a month-on-month increase of 98.7 per cent, while housing loans to non-residents fell by 31.2 per cent month-on-month to MOP114.5 million.
Of the total residential mortgage loans, those collateralised by completed units, also known as equitable mortgages, amounted to MOP2.1 billion, which surged by 488 per cent month-on-month, an increase of 528 per cent year-on-year.
According to AMCM, such notable jumps were driven by larger loan amounts recorded for a few number of approvals.
Some 98.8 per cent, or MOP2.05 billion, of the newly approved equitable mortgage loans were granted to local residents, which surged by 642 per cent month-on-month. Nevertheless, those to non-residents dropped by 67.3 per cent month-on-month to some MOP25 million.
Meanwhile, local banks new approvals of commercial real estate loans grew by 27.8 per cent month-on-month to MOP2.9 billion for May. On a year-on-year comparison, the amount fell by 30.3 per cent.
Outstanding value
As at the end of May, the banking sector saw the outstanding value of residential mortgage loans increase slightly by 0.3 per cent month-on-month to MOP175.4 billion, an increase of 7.5 per cent year-on-year. Of the total, 93.6 per cent, or MOP164.1 million, was made of local residents, up 0.2 per cent compared to the end of April.
By contrast, the outstanding value of commercial mortgage loans dropped 0.3 per cent month-on-month to MOP166.1 billion. Nevertheless, compared to one year ago, the amount grew by 19.2 per cent year-on-year. Of the total, residents accounted for 88.1 per cent, down 0.6 per cent month-on-month.
At the end of May, the delinquency ratio for residential mortgage loans went up by 0.1 percentage points month-on-month to 0.11 per cent, while that for commercial loans remained unchanged month-on-month at 0.02 per cent.