SENTIMENT among Shanghai real estate buyers and the average housing price eased in Shanghai last week after the high-end segment cooled, according to market data.
The area of new homes sold, excluding government-subsidized affordable housing, fell 1.8 percent weekly to 277,000 square meters, Shanghai Centaline Property Consultants Co said in a report yesterday.
They were sold for an average of 39,336 yuan (US$5,905) per square meter, down 4 percent from the previous week, according to Centaline data.
“Despite the slight retreat, the overall momentum among home seekers remained quite robust,” said Lu Wenxi, a senior research manager at Centaline. “The average price fell below the 40,000 yuan per square meter threshold for the first time in three weeks.”
Lu attributed the drop to a possible sign of cooling sentiment for luxury houses in general.
A residential project in outlying Fengxian District sold 87 units for an average of 15,716 yuan per square meter each during the seven-day period ended Sunday and became the most sought-after development.
Last week the city recorded only two projects with homes going for 50,000 yuan per square meter and above, a decline from four projects registered in the previous week.
