Macau Real Estate News

HK Shun Tak To Buy Ppty Devt Rights In Macau For HK$1.5B

HONG KONG (Dow Jones)--Shun Tak Holdings Ltd. (0242.HK) said Monday it has entered into a memorandum of understanding with an investment holding company controlled by Macau casino tycoon Stanley Ho to buy companies that hold the development rights of a site in Macau for HK$1.5 billion.

Shun Tak is a property-to-shipping company also controlled by Ho.

The site adjoins the Macau Tower in Nam Van, Macau. It has a gross area of about 428,410 square feet and a developable gross floor area of 2.7 million square feet to be used for mixed-use property development.

Of the HK$1.5 billion, HK$750 million will be paid in cash, and the remainder will be satisfied by issuing 148.8 million new shares at HK$5.04 each to Newco, an investment company nominated by the seller, Shun Tak said.

Newco is 47% owned by Stanley Ho, and 53% held by a company jointly owned by Pansy Ho, Daisy Ho and Maisy Ho.

The issue price represents a discount of 16% to the last trading price of Shun Tak's shares of HK$6.00 before they were suspended from trading Thursday. The shares will resume trading Monday.

The acquisition price of HK$1.5 billion represents a 7.4% discount to the site's estimated market valuation of HK$1.62 billion as valued by Chesterton Petty Ltd. on Tuesday.

Paul Y wins $1b Macau project

Danny Chung and Eli Lau

Skynet (International Group) Holdings, a unit of Hong Kong-listed builder Paul Y-ITC Construction, has won a HK$1 billion contract for an entertainment complex being developed in Macau by casino tycoon Stanley Ho, a source close to the deal has confirmed.

The company had outbid other contractors for the design and building contract, the source said.

The contract details of the hotel-casino-retail complex had been settled as early as May this year.

The initial design was for a tower soaring more than 100 storeys, but this was rejected by the Macau aviation authorities.

The current design should have a height less than 100 storeys and was still being revised, the source said.

``The company is now making preparations to carry out the contract and a whole team of people have been sent there,'' he added.

The complex, situated at Baixa da Taipa in Macau, is being jointly developed by Ho's Hong Kong-listed Melco International Development and his gaming conglomerate, Sociedade de Turismo e Diversoes de Macau (STDM). Melco would be co-ordinator of the complex while the Hyatt Hotels Group would manage the six-star hotel facilities.

The casino would be run by STDM's unit, Sociedade de Jogos de Macau (SJM), and the electronic gaming lounge by Melco's unit, Mocha Slot Group.

The joint venture would receive rental income from Mocha and SJM.

The entertainment complex would be ready for operation by 2006.

Skynet is 94 per cent-owned by Paul Y-ITC, Hong Kong's largest listed builder.

Earlier this year, Paul Y-ITC injected the construction unit and shareholder loans of a subsidiary into Skynet.

Last month Melco announced the placing of 75.9 million new shares at HK$5.2 per share to raise HK$395 million.

Of the HK$377 million in net proceeds, 55 per cent, or HK$94 million, would be used for development of the entertainment complex, 25 per cent for expansion of the company's Mocha slot machine operations and the rest reserved as working capital.

Lai Sun media unit enters Macau housing project

eSun Holdings, a media unit of Lai Sun Group, will join forces with the group's mainland property arm, Lai Fung Holdings, to develop 30 detached houses in Macau, the two companies said.

The 215,200 square foot site for the development, valued at about HK$115 million, is located in the reclamation area between Taipa and Coloane.


eSun will own 60 per cent of the project, and Lai Fung will pay HK$46 million for a 40 per cent stake. The development land is part of a 1.52 million sq ft site intended to eventually house a hotel and TV studios as well. In 2001, eSun acquired the development rights to the land for 25 years, with an option to extend the term to 2049.

eSun said having a partner in the residential project would minimise its financial and business risks while allowing it to retain a 60 per cent interest in the project's upside.

Chief executive Mark Lee said last month the hotel and residential portion would require an investment of more than HK$500 million. At the time, he also suggested the floor area of the residential project might be increased.

Thursday's statement made no mention of that possibility but, if it does occur, land premium negotiations with the Macau government will be necessary.

Lai Fung said last week it had bought two pieces of land with a combined area of 875,000 sq ft in Zhongshan city, Guangdong.

The company posted a nearly 40-fold jump in net profit to HK$173 million for the year ended July 31.

eSun shares rose 14.3 per cent to close at HK$0.52 on Thursday as the market continues to gobble up Macau concept stocks, while Lai Fung shares gained 3.4 per cent to HK$0.246.

HK's eSun says may build HK$2 bln hotels in Macau

HONG KONG, Dec 30 (Reuters) - Property concern Lai Sun Development Co. Ltd.'s 42.5 percent owned media unit eSun Holdings Ltd. said it may build hotels on a site in Macau at a cost of HK$2 billion (US$256 million).

"eSun would like to emphasise that the proposals are currently at a preliminary stage and may or may not proceed," eSun said in a joint statement on Thursday.

eSun said earlier this month it planned to develop a 141,000 square metres site in Macau, which would include residential buildings, two hotels and a TV studio or city.

Sister company Lai Fung Holdings Ltd. also said this month it might join eSun in the Macau development.

Shares of eSun, which have surged 428 percent in the past three months, jumped 22 percent to HK$1.90 in early Thursday morning trade.

(US$1=HK$7.8)

Macao's urban poor turn to public housing

MACAO, March 24 (Xinhuanet) -- Macao's public housing is in hot demand as thousands of urban poor are in danger of being driven out of home because of soaring property price.

The Macao Housing Institute has handed out more than 4,400 application forms to potential buyers of the government subsidized housing in a recent round of bidding for public housing. However, official sources disclosed that there are only some 100 of such houses in vacancy, which would fall far short of the demand.

With property rate still climbing, the city's low-income families become increasingly worried. Many people find commercial housing increasingly out of reach.

The average housing price per square meter is estimated at 8,016 patacas (1002 US dollars) by the second half of 2004, up 27 percent from the same period of the previous year, and it keeps onrising since the beginning of this year.

The British Savills, a property service provider setting foot on Macao earlier this week, forecast that the real estate price inMacao would double in the coming two years, citing the case of theLas Vegas Sands' latest casino investment project on the Taipa Island of Macao, which would lift the real estate price from the current 8,000 patacas (about 1,000 US dollars) per square meter to20,000 patacas (2,500 US dollars) in two years.

In addition to the price rise of commercial housing, landlords are raising flat rents steeply, forcing lots of people to seek other shelters.

Some local economists said that Macao's new round of economic boom bolstered by the gaming industry has not yet benefited the grass-root class, while the soaring real estate price has become amajor indicator of the economy. They advised the government to build more subsidized flats or locally-called "social housing" to help urban poor to survive.

The gaming industry earned 36.8 billion patacas (4.6 billion USdollars) in gross revenue last year, contributing 14.7 billion patacas (1.8 billion US dollars) to the government's tax coffer, which made up of 70 percent of the government's tax income.

The Housing Institute said that by the end of May last year, 4,653 families had bought "social housing." Up to now, another 106 families could be hopefully settled soon, but there are over 4,400more waiting in a long queue.

All people holding valid ID documents in Macao for more than five years and above the age of 18 are eligible to apply for public housing. The government has not offered the subsidized flats for low-income families since November last year.

Macao has a population of some 460,000, and the city is witnessing a sharp increase in the number of imported workers as all sectors are in urgent need of new recruitment. They have also boosted the need for housing.

Macao's real estate market has been burgeoning upon the Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) government's open-up of the gaming market by issuing casino operation concessions in 2002. Thesector well known for its lingering bubbles in 1990s is on the threshold of a new upturn period after having experienced over a decade long doldrums. Soon after the first American casino, the Sands Macao was opened in May last year, there followed the opening of several new casinos offering thousands of job opportunities.

The Housing Institute has promised to make a thorough investigation on the public demand for the "social housing."

Savills branches out to Macao

Kathryn O’Meara
March 30, 2005

In view of the resurgent Macao economy, Savills has opened an office in Macao.

According to Savills, there has been growing demand for professional property service providers with an international profile and experience of the Asia Pacific real estate markets.

Savills Macao managing director Raymond Lee said Asia’s buoyant real estate economy is attracting international funds in increasing numbers and Macao currently offers competitive entry into a rapidly reforming economy which is set to benefit from both its popularity among Mainlanders as well as its growing international reputation.

“It is essential that we are able to meet the needs of our clients in Asia’s fastest growing real estate markets,” Lee said.

Most recently the focus of international investors has been on land development, Lee added.

“Savills worldwide network of offices has allowed the company to advise overseas funds on entry into the Macao market. These are funds with companies we already have longstanding relationships.”

The main services offered are:
• Investment agency
• Property & facilities management
• Property valuation & consultancy
• Development appraisal and due diligence services on land matters

The establishment of Savills Macao office is a further step towards completing the company’s Asia footprint which currently extends to Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Guangzhou on the Mainland as well as Hong Kong, Japan and Singapore.

“In particular, we believe that Macao offers enormous business potential for both property professionals and investors,” Lee concluded.

Serviced flats group sets sights on Macau
Foster Wong
4 May 2005
South China Morning Post

Shama Group, a relatively new boutique serviced apartment operator in Hong Kong, plans to invest up to $200 million to expand into Macau.

The private company, seeing boom times ahead for the neighbouring SAR, is in talks to build a block of 100 serviced apartments by 2007 and expects to seal the deal this year.

"We see Macau as a very natural step for Shama. It's a market that we have a good understanding of the needs and most crucially, the timing," said Shama Group chief executive and co-founder Elaine Young.

Shama, which started business in Hong Kong a decade ago, now operates about 200 serviced apartments in four locations. It will open another project in Mid-Levels, offering 48 units, next month.

The group also plans to open a serviced apartment project in the southern mainland city of Zuhai - its first move into China.

"Occupancy at Shama hasn't dropped below 96 per cent in the past 18 months, even with price increases, so we have not reached the ceiling regarding demand or pricing," Ms Young said.

Shama now charges tenants about $45 per sqft, or $18,000 to $65,000 per month depending on unit size. The price includes complimentary membership to California Fitness and Kee Club.

Corporate clients account for 80 per cent of leases. Tenants are executives in the financial and legal sectors aged between 25 and 45 with high disposable incomes.

"Our tenants are high achievers earning good money so understandably they want to live in a quality apartment," she said.

Macau Real estate Market Update

　　今年以來，新娛樂場陸續投入運作，整體失業率下調，旅遊人士與日俱增，帶動零售消費信心，在經濟形勢一片大好情況下，本澳樓市暢旺，交投活躍，樓價繼續攀升。

澳門半島
　　南灣湖豪宅湖景豪庭平均呎價約1450元，單位面積由1800~5200平方呎不等，目前仍有單位在售；新口岸同區怡寶閣、怡濤閣放盤，出售均呎價870餘元，據悉二手承接亦佳，餘下貨尾很少；荷蘭園區新禧閣推出貨尾均呎價為790餘元；筷子基嘉應花園則仍繼續發售貨尾單位，據悉去貨情況不錯；而青洲泉喜花園月初推少量貨尾，呎價仍為300餘元起，火速售罄。

氹仔區
　　氹仔鴻發花園月尾公開發售，但據聞內部發售時，單位已全部由投資者承接，現在三幢住宅對外公開發售均呎價約890~980餘元；新入伙之友利花園出售均呎價約860餘元，售況平穩；另創福豪庭上月新一批單位均呎價約750餘元，目前已售罄；樂駿盈軒則仍繼續發售貨尾單位。

路環區
　　路環竹灣豪園別墅屋宇建築面積3,905~5,226平方呎，另綠化面積678~2,400平方呎，目前有散盤叫售600多萬。

近期率先把業務拓展至澳門市場的香港地產代理公司，曾經調查港人喜歡在珠江三角洲內哪個城市投資物業。結果顯示，選擇澳門及深圳作為投資物業地點的，各佔32.1%。港澳兩地居民無語言隔膜，是澳門的優勢之一。其次，在港人眼中，澳門法制及治安均較深圳勝一籌，亦是港人喜歡在澳購置物業的原因。而生活水平較香港低、往來港澳僅一小時船程的便捷、飲食文化豐富多樣等，均促使港人對澳門投下信心的一票。不少港人都因為看準澳門博彩業開放呈現朝氣，在手頭有餘錢的情況下來澳置業，視澳門物業為投資工具。

賭權開放效應令新口岸，尤其是皇朝廣場一帶的商舖和住宅價格飛升，且升勢至今並沒有放慢跡象。自美國博彩營運商美高梅金殿(MGM)落實與澳博發展計劃後，不單該帶商舖被封盤數目增加，商舖的每呎售價更進一步上揚。商舖封盤趨升現象最近亦蔓延至有計劃發展成步行街的荷蘭園，尤其是貼近塔石球場一帶的商舖。一年內，該帶商舖售價和租金已增升近八成和六成，個別商舖每呎售價更貼近新口岸，有個別商舖售價更叫價四千元至四千五百元一呎，且達成交易。由於陸續有外來投資者將目光轉移到荷蘭園商舖，有地產業者預期，該區的商舖售價和舖租在未來有較大上升空間，商舖封盤的情況料增。

Value of property deals up 80% in Macao in Q1

The value of Macao's property sales and purchase contracts signed in the first quarter rose 80.6 percent over the same period of last year, according to official statistics published here Thursday.

The figures from the Statistics and Census Service indicated that a total of 5,412 real-estate sales and purchase contracts were inked, involving the transaction of 6,981 flats with an officially registered value of 4.58 billion patacas (558 million US dollars).

The total registered value of mortgage credit granted in the first quarter reached 4.03 billion patacas (491 million US dollars)and 44.5 percent of the amount was concerned real-estate purchases,according to the figures.

Macao's real-estate market has seen a boom since Macao returnedto the motherland in 1999.

Macau Real Estate Web Links

Websites about Macau Real Estate companies, apartments, hotels and office buildings

APARTMENTS : Macau Island Park
http://www.macau-islandpark.com/c/saleinfo.html

Developer: Veng Ngai Realty Co.
http://www.vengngai.com/

List of buildings pics
www.hangtai.com/job.html

Property bets follow casinos in Macau gold rush

A model of the 'City of Dreams' by Melco International Development, a hotel and casino project that will feature the world's first underwater casino in Macau, is displayed during a news conference in Hong Kong May 17, 2005. REUTERS/Bobby Yip


By Dominic Whiting, Asia property correspondent

MACAU (Reuters) - The way Macau property prices are soaring while rows of new apartment blocks stand nearly empty, investors could be forgiven for thinking that the mushrooming casino business is providing the gas for a property bubble.

The former Portuguese enclave on China's southern tip has drawn speculative flows from Shanghai, which is being officially cooled after an explosion of real estate investment, and Hong Kong, where rising interest rates are starting to bite.

Macau developers can still sell sparkling high-rise blocks in just a couple of weeks, but buyers are taking a big risk. There is hardly any rental market -- only around a tenth of new apartments are lived in.

"There's a tremendous feeling of a gold rush town," said Elaine Young, chief executive of Hong Kong serviced apartment firm Shama, which is looking to expand into Macau.

"The property market has risen outrageously."

Apartment prices rose 50 percent last year. Property agents predict the same in 2005, and analysts at investment bank Merrill Lynch expect the cost of an apartment to double in three years.

But the rampant speculation, mostly by people from Hong Kong and the rest of China, is based on economic fundamentals.

Gross domestic product grew 28 percent last year thanks to a 40 percent jump in tourists visiting the only place in China where casinos are legal. Per capita GDP for Macau's 465,000 residents has risen to the level of New Zealand's from that of Slovenia in just one year.

Officials predict 20 million visitors will pour in this year, a fifth more than in 2004.

ROOM TO BOOM

Investors are betting there will be a bigger boom in 2007, with the opening of the first phase of the Cotai Strip of opulent casinos, plush hotels and shopping malls, being built on about 5 sq km of land reclaimed from the silt-clogged Pearl River delta.

The 60,000-room seven-casino three-phase project was dreamed up by Las Vegas gaming tycoon Sheldon Adelson. Hoteliers involved include Hilton Group, Marriott International and Four Seasons Hotels.

"I don't see a bubble," said Gregory Ku, head of property consultants Jones Lang LaSalle in Macau, who has privately invested in two Macau apartments.

"A bubble means there are no good things to support the market. But Macau has many."

China could clamp down on loan sharks that fund gambling trips, and some analysts say competition from Singapore's planned casinos could stack the odds against another Macau boom.

But the demands of the industry itself, regardless of its success, are having an impact.

"Until the casinos raised their glamorous heads, there was no need for serviced apartments," said Young. "Now there will be human resources people, entertainers, people to run the hotels and convention business, designers, architects, civil engineers."

BOOM ROOTS

The excitement began in 2002 when Macau ended a gaming monopoly held by shipping and gambling tycoon Stanley Ho, who boasts of having once fought off a pirate attack.

China then eased travel restrictions in 2003, prompting a flood of Chinese tourists.

The number of mainland Chinese approved for residency in Macau nearly trebled last year to 6,885 -- each bringing mandatory property investment of $128,000 (70,000 pounds).

A typical 2,000 sq ft, three-bedroom luxury apartment costs $900,000, but that is still only a tenth of some projects in Hong Kong, an hour away by ferry or 10 minutes by helicopter.

Authorities are considering market-cooling measures, such as a cut in bank loans to 70 percent of a property's value, from 90 percent, but Merrill Lynch analyst Hillman Wong points out that similar moves in Hong Kong did little to quell speculation there in the 1980s and 90s.

He expects Macau home buyers to pay up to 188 months' salary for a flat, against 118 months' worth now. At the height of the bubble in Hong Kong in 1997, home buyers paid 440 months' salary.

"People in Macau are getting wealthy and there's big demand for upgrading accommodation," Wong said.

"Construction workers got 40 to 60 percent pay rises last year. Junior casino dealers will get 13,000 (Hong Kong) dollars a month," compared with Macau's average of HK$5,500 per month now.

The narrow streets of peninsular Macau are crammed with greying concrete apartment blocks with a smattering of mustard and pink colonial buildings, their arches and shuttered windows remnants of four centuries of Portuguese rule that ended in 1999.

Most of the new construction is on nearby Taipa island, which is fused by the Cotai Strip to Coloane island, and via a causeway linking it directly to mainland China.

Only a handful of outside developers, mostly from Hong Kong, have chiselled a foothold in the tight-knit market, including Hopewell Holdings, Shun Tak, Kowloon Development and Far East Consortium.

A joint venture between Morgan Stanley, Hong Kong-listed Pioneer Global and Wachovia Corp managed to buy a 22-storey office tower.

"Even if a deal is on the table, people pull it because they are petrified of selling too cheaply," Young said.

Macau Property Prices Rising

MACAU – As reported by Reuters: "The way Macau property prices are soaring while rows of new apartment blocks stand nearly empty, investors could be forgiven for thinking that the mushrooming casino business is providing the gas for a property bubble.

"The former Portuguese enclave on China's southern tip has drawn speculative flows from Shanghai, which is being officially cooled after an explosion of real estate investment, and Hong Kong, where rising interest rates are starting to bite.

"Macau developers can still sell sparkling high-rise blocks in just a couple of weeks, but buyers are taking a big risk. There is hardly any rental market -- only around a tenth of new apartments are lived in.

"…But the rampant speculation, mostly by people from Hong Kong and the rest of China, is based on economic fundamentals.

"…Investors are betting there will be a bigger boom in 2007, with the opening of the first phase of the Cotai Strip of opulent casinos, plush hotels and shopping malls, being built on about 5 sq km of land reclaimed from the silt-clogged Pearl River delta.

"The 60,000-room seven-casino three-phase project was dreamed up by Las Vegas gaming tycoon Sheldon Adelson. Hoteliers involved include Hilton Group, Marriott International and Four Seasons Hotels Inc…"

Polar to build 250 apartments in Macau

Polar International Real Estate and the Chio Group will each invest $10 million in a joint venture, which will make real estate investments in Macau.

Far East considers selling Macau hotel and apartments

Far East Consortium International may sell one of its four hotels and some of its serviced apartments in Macau next year, says deputy chairman David Chiu Tat-cheong.

With more than 21,000 rooms in Macau either planned or already under construction, analysts expect competition in the hospitality industry to become more intense over the next three years than had generally been forecast.

"Some Taiwanese funds have expressed an interest in acquiring one of our hotels in Cotai," said Mr Chiu.

Far East is developing 3,190 rooms in four hotels in Macau, as well as a casino and a commercial and serviced apartment complex, as part of Macau's Cotai Strip development. The whole development is due to be completed in 2007 -08.

Since the project will only get off the ground within the next two months, Mr Chiu said any sales would not take place in the near future.

"It probably will be next year if we proceed with the sale," he said.

The US$ 3.5 billion Cotai Strip development comprises more than 10,000 rooms, and will be built by Las Vegas Sands, Far East Consortium, Regal Hotels International, Four Seasons and other hotel chains, with the first phase to be opened in 2007.

Far East's project comes at a cost of $ 2.8 billion, of which $ 2 billion will be financed by bank borrowings and the remainder by internal resources, Mr Chiu said.

Benjamin Cheng, an analyst at Goldbond Securities, said in a report that Far East would recoup $ 1 billion from the partial disposal of one hotel and the serviced apartments.

At the same time, market sources said the 380-room Hotel Royal, about five minutes drive from Hotel Lisboa, is being offered for sale through tender for about $ 760 million.

Mr Cheng said in the report that two-thirds of the 21,000 rooms would be ready in 2008 and 2009, compared with the existing inventory of 9,200 rooms.

"In order to achieve a reasonable occupancy rate of 65 per cent, hoteliers in Macau have to sell 13,000 additional room nights every day in 2010. Pressure on room rates should not be underestimated," he said.

Currently, nearly 90 per cent of Macau's visitors are from the mainland and Hong Kong, who on average stay 1.2 nights per trip, against 3.8 days in Las Vegas.

Far East adds fifth hotel to casino resort

Far East Consortium International will add a fifth hotel to the casino resort complex it is building on the Cotai Strip.

Chief financial officer Bill Mok said the first phase of the project will now encompass four hotels with about 2,400 rooms, some 400 more than previously stated. The casino and showroom area to be leased to US operator Las Vegas Sands will expand by 25,000 square feet to 165,000 sqft.

Two of the hotels, a 600-room Holiday Inn and a 417-room InterContinental, are to be managed by InterContinental Hotels Group. The other two hotels, an 800-room Dorsett and a 606-room Cosmopolitan, would be managed by Far East itself.

The first phase is to open in two years. It will be followed months later by a second phase including a hotel with about 1,000 rooms which Far East may hire Marriott International to manage.

Dorsett is a three-star brand Far East has developed and utilized in Hong Kong and other countries.

Cosmopolitan is the Hong Kong-listed company's new four-star brand, introduced with the opening of the Cosmopolitan Hotel Hong Kong in Wan Chai in February. About 10 percent of its 454 rooms are ``family rooms'' which include a small living room area with a sofa bed or room for cots.

Far East officials say the family rooms have been well-received, so the Cosmopolitan Macau will be entirely made up of such mini-suites. ``What we see is that by 2007, there should be more family travelers going to Macau,'' Mok said.

The additional rooms will add about HK$100 million to the HK$2.8 billion cost of the project, which is also sketched to include Macau's largest shopping mall and cinema complex as well as apartments.

Raymond Ngai, a property analyst with JPMorgan, forecast in a recent report that Far East will earn HK$900 million from selling the apartments. He said Far East may also sell the two InterContinental-managed hotels for HK$2 billion-HK$2.4 billion.

Ngai expects Far East to be able to charge HK$15 per square foot for rent in its mall and HK$20 psf to Las Vegas Sands. Given that Far East could recoup the cost of the project by selling just the apartments and two hotels, Ngai said the company could cruise ahead with HK$600 million-HK$700 million in annual income from the mall, Las Vegas Sands and the other three hotels.

Macau's property boom persists

Macau's property boom is seemingly persisting, as the real estate prices saw a year-on-year rise of 31 percent in the second quarter.
The latest figures released by the government-run Statistics and Census Service showed that the average transaction price of residential units per square-meter stood at 10,072 patacas (US$1,259) in the quarter.
The boom is rooted from 2002 when Macau ended the gaming monopoly held for decades by the shipping and gambling tycoon Stanley Ho.
International gambling sharks have since been flocking into the 26-square-km region on a gold rush.
There are currently 17 casinos under operation, two of which being funded by foreign investors. International companies including MGM Mirage, however, are pouring over US$12 billion to build new casinos in Macau.
The special administrative region (SAR), predicted by many analysts, may overtake Las Vegas in 2005 as the world's biggest gambling center by revenue.
Officials foresee that some 20 million visitors will pour in this year, most of which being assumedly gamblers.
Demand for housing among the visitors, those from the Chinese mainland in particular, is likely to keep lifting luxury residential property in the years to come, local real estate agents said.
New casinos in Macau may also draw around 30,000 foreign employees in the next few years, local observers predicted.
Macau has about 10,000 luxury apartments, according to official statistics, and may add 5,000 in the next two years for the flow of gaming industry professionals, they said.
This will surely add up to the confidence of property investors.
The booming property prices are also partly due to the rising number of the mainland Chinese approved for residence in Macau.
The number of legal immigrants from the mainland stood at 6,885 in 2004, being trebled over the previous year.
Many mainlanders have been and are buying Macau property to get the right of residence.
The SAR grants residency to those who invest in at least one million patacas (US$124,876) and the simplest way surely will be the property purchasing.
The way Macau property prices are soaring, however, triggered speculations among economists that the mushrooming casino business has been producing a property bubble.
Developers, in their eyes, can still sell price-rocketing blocks, but buyers are taking a big risk.
There is hardly any rental market in the region with a population of merely 470,000, and only around a tenth of new apartments are lived in, according to official statistics.
Macau home buyers are currently to pay up to 118 months of salary for a flat. At the height of the Hong Kong's property bubble in 1997, home buyers paid 440 months of salary.
Is that the distance between a boom and a bubble?

Polar to build 250 apartments in Macau

Did Polar announce to build 250 apartments in Macau? Where?