Windsor Arch offers spectacular panoramic views of the Macau Race Course and the Cotai Strip

The tremendous changes in Macau over the past decade are astonishing, with the city’s construction boom transforming the former Portuguese colony into a haven of casinos, hotels and luxury properties.

According to the Macau Statistics and Census Service, sales of residential building units reached a total of 21,628 last year, a 25.9 percent year-on-year rise. Leading the market were high-end residential properties, which contributed to a stunning 120.3 percent increase in the transaction value of MOP42 billion from a year earlier.

In the first quarter of 2008, 6,518 building units, valued at MOP12.72 billion, were purchased and sold with stamp duty paid to the Finance Service Bureau. Seventy percent, or 4,563, of these were residential units, which were valued at MOP10.99 billion.

An analysis of the transaction price showed that 17.5 percent (797 units) were purchased and sold for more than MOP4 million; 25.2 percent (1,149 units) ranged from MOP2 million to MOP4 million; 15.7 percent (715 units) ranged between MOP1 million and MOP2 million; and 41.7 percent (1,902 units) were less than MOP1 million. The transaction price of all residential units averaged MOP24,583 per square metre of usable area, up by 0.1 percent compared with the previous quarter.

Despite the Macau Government’s new measures to cap gaming development and the softening of market sentiment, the influx of capital from foreign investors continued to drive up housing prices.

One notable project is San You Development's Residencia Macau – near the future Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge – which was launched for sale in Hong Kong in May. Sold at HK$4,000 to HK$5,500 per square foot, the project attracted many international buyers and by mid-May, more than 200 flats had been sold. In 2006, Speymill Macau Property Company, which is listed on the London Stock Exchange's Alternative Investment Market, bought 243 residential units accompanied by parking spaces in the project. The company sold them for MOP1.29 billion this year, making a 38 percent profit on its original purchase price.

In February, luxury hotel chain Marriott International bought 30 units in Wai Heng Group’s high-end property The Buckingham in Taipa  and plans to hold them as vacation homes for club members. To be completed by next year, the project has already attracted buyers from Japan, Britain and the Mainland, while more than half of the flats were sold internally.

The thriving city has attracted the attention of global investors, and developers are embarking on new marketing strategies to differentiate themselves from rivals. While most of them consider Macau or nearby cities as their battleground, more aggressive developers have broadened their horizons.

One such developer is Empresa de Desenvolvimento Predial Vitória, which held its first promotional exhibition of Windsor Arch, a luxury Macau development, in May in London, where it welcomed more than 200 buyers. After the British pre-sale show, the global marketing campaign continued with a road show in major foreign cities, which was a first for a Macau residential project.

 “The rapid growth of Macau and its position as the centre for gaming in [the] Asia-Pacific region has attracted many serious institutional investors from around the globe,” said Franco Liu, the director and head of the Savills Macau office, the sole marketing consultant for Windsor Arch. “Aside from significant local buyer interest, we have seen a flurry of activity from many global high-net-worth individuals, keen to secure their position in this market.”

Targeting the growing international opportunities, the group chose London, one of the world’s three biggest capital markets, as the first stop for its global launch. Mr Liu admitted that foreign property investors previously had little knowledge about the Macau property market. However, the growth of Macau as a popular gaming and entertainment destination is encouraging investors from Europe, Korea, Japan and Taiwan to pour money into the market. Mainlanders accounted for 20 percent of the buyers of luxury projects in Macau, 25 to 30 percent were foreign, while buyers holding Hong Kong identity cards accounted for 30 percent, he added.

In May, the “Beauty of Harmony in Macau 2008 – 100 Days towards Beijing Olympic Games” Water Magical Show, sponsored by Windsor Arch, heralded the start of more than HK$200 million worth of promotional programmes in the city.

A taste of British lifestyle
A luxurious residence for connoisseurs, the Windsor Arch development boasts all the elements of a high-priced property: a prime location, impressive facilities and professional services.

Located on prosperous Taipa Island, where most of the luxurious properties are situated, the 47-storey Windsor Arch apartment towers will provide about 1,500 residential units ranging from 860 square foot to 5,500 square foot. The 10 south-facing towers, with 19 sky villas sitting at the top of each, allow residents to enjoy the spectacular views over the coastline, across the Taipa racecourse along the Cotai Strip and stretching beyond Macau Tower. The developer is bullish on the project’s potential for capital appreciation as it is adjacent to many internationally ranked developments.

Windsor Arch has been designed with a high-class British ambience in mind. Its unique double clubhouse includes a 200,000 square foot residential clubhouse, with indoor and outdoor swimming pools that provide the perfect place for residents to relax. Inspired by Brocket Hall, one of England’s finest stately homes, the exclusive clubhouse has appointed the renowned international clubhouse consultants CCA, also the management company of Brocket Hall, as its management adviser to assure service standards.

 “Windsor Arch is our most significant large-scale luxury residential project,” said Alex Ng, general manager of Empresa de Desenvolvimento Predial Vitória. “To ensure the highest level of standards in design, finishes and services, we have invited a number of world-class advisers to collaborate on this assignment. In doing so, we establish an outstanding landmark which will withstand the test of time and one in which we will be able to take great pride.”

To capture global opportunities amid the booming property market, there has been an improvement in the quality and scale of residence. As one of the few residential projects that prides itself on offering the very best in the city, 30 to 50 units of Windsor Arch, to be completed in 2010 and offered for sale later this year, have already been sold through an internal presale. The project’s investment total is expected to top MOP4 billion. The developer is confident that the transaction value will scale a new heights, and it estimates that the project will cash out MOP20 billion if sold out. The selling price of Windsor Arch will compare with that of similar ranked properties in the district, such as the One Grantai. Flats in Block 5, 6 and 7 will be fully furnished and are expected to sell for the highest price among all the units.