SALES of pre-owned homes more than doubled in Shanghai last month as the market began to regain some strength after the traditional low season came to an end.
Across the city, some 19,400 units of existing homes changed hands in March, compared with 9,400 units sold a month earlier, according to the latest data compiled by Shanghai
Homelink Real Estate Agency Co. It represented a plunge of 61.8 percent year over year.
"The rebound was mainly caused by some seasonal factors but a major one should not be expected any time soon with tightening measures remaining strictly enforced," Homelink
wrote in a report.
Notably, the outlying Jinshan New City and Nanqiao New City were the only two areas where more than 200 units of existing homes were sold last month.
On the price side, a separate report released today by the Shanghai Existing House Index Office found that average price of pre-occupied homes rose last month in 92 of the 130
areas monitored by the office, compared with 13 areas in February, amid notable increase in sales. Prices fell in 17 areas and remained flat in the rest 21 areas.
As a result, the city's existing housing index climbed 0.64 percent to 3,981 in March, the first gain in four months.
By price, pre-owned houses costing no more than 3 million yuan (US$433,144) accounted for 63.8 percent of the total sales, a month-over-month decrease of 4.8 percentage points.
Those bearing a price tag of between 3 million yuan and 5 million yuan grabbed a 24 percent stake, a monthly increase of 3 percentage points. Existing homes costing more than 5
million yuan, meanwhile, gained 1.8 percentage points from February to contribute to about 12 percent of the total sales last month, according to the office.
--source from Shanghai Daily
