The government has announced that it has finished drafting a bill that proposes the easing of its cooling measures for the home market, informally known as “spicy” measures.
Secretary for Administration and Justice André Cheong Weng Chon, who is also the spokesman for the government’s top advisory Executive Council, made the announcement during a press conference at Government Headquarters on Friday. The bill will be submitted to the Legislative Assembly in due course for debate, review and vote.
The bill announced on Friday proposes amendments to the current law that levies an additional stamp duty on all those who buy residential units in addition to their first one.
According to the law, which took effect in February 2018, an additional stamp duty of five percent of the declared value of the respective unit is levied on those who buy a second unit, while an additional stamp duty of 10 percent of the declared value is levied on any other residential units purchased.
According to Cheong, the amendment bill proposes to cancel the additional five-percent stamp duty levied on those who buy a second residential unit. However, Cheong said, the bill proposes to keep the additional 10-percent stamp duty levied on those who buy their third residential unit and any more.
The government proposes that the amendment bill will take effect on January 1 next year – if the bill is passed by the legislature in its second and final reading.
Cheong underlined that the government has concluded that it is now suitable to relax its home-market cooling measures after considering the latest developments of the city’s property market and economic situation.
Cheong said that the government’s proposed easing of its cooling measures aims to make it easier for residents to improve their living environment, i.e., buying a better home and selling their existing one.
Furthermore, Cheong also announced that the government will ease its mortgage-rate restrictions on home buyers from January 1 next year, adding that the relaxation can be implemented through the Macau Monetary Authority’s (AMCM) amendments to its current guidelines, i.e., the amendments do not require the legislature’s consent.
According to the eased rules, home buyers can obtain bank mortgages of up to 70 percent of the purchase price, regardless of the price of the flat. Currently, for instance, for a flat priced over 8 million patacas, the buyer can obtain a bank mortgage of no more than 50 percent.
This photo taken this afternoon from a commercial building on Rua dos Mercadores in the city centre shows old and new low- and high-rise residential, commercial and mixed-use built buildings built adjacent to each other in the peninsula's densely populated enviroment. Photo: Carl Leong
