In the Macau Government’s policy address of 16th November, one of the most important policies related to the real estate market was the re-launch of land auctions after almost 20 years. The Macau Government is now the largest landowner in Macau, and it is estimated that it owns over 80 plots of land most of which were revoked from private owners under the New Land Law from 2014 to 2021.

The market has been waiting for years for the Government to relax planning restrictions and re-use the land, and so the announcement that the next land auction will be held in 2022 was widely welcomed. The Government has also emphasized that future residential units should not be “mini-sized” units, and should be larger than standard public housing, and so it is believed that the Government will add such measures into land bidding conditions in the future, forbidding the supply of micro units.

It is expected that the Hengqin project will be the next largest opportunity for Macau after the development of the gaming industry, benefiting not only real estate but a wide range of other industries.