New home buying momentum continued to rebound in Shanghai last week with outlying districts and their downtown counterparts recording mixed performances.
The area of new residential properties sold, excluding government-subsidized affordable housing, climbed 7.5 percent to around 155,000 square meters in the seven days to Sunday, gaining strength for the second week, Shanghai Centaline Property Consultants Co said in its regular Monday report.
Around the city, western Qingpu District remained the most sought-after area for another week with transaction volume hitting 19,000 square meters. Jiading District, where around 18,000 square meters were sold, was right behind. In contrast, the downtown districts of Jing'an and Hongkou recorded sales of some 3,540 square meters and less than 1,000 square meters, respectively.
The average cost of a new home fell 3.4 percent from a week earlier to 53,266 yuan (US$7,723) per square meter, Centaline data showed.
"Shanghai's new home market remained generally stable," said Lu Wenxi, Centaline's senior research manager. "With no further tightening policies being rolled out anytime soon, the seven-day transaction volume may probably hover around 150,000 square meters or less over the coming weeks as sultry weather affects home seekers."
In last week's top 10 list by area, four cost more than 50,000 yuan per square meter. A residential development in Putuo District led all after selling 5,615 square meters, or 55 apartments, for an average price of 87,343 yuan per square meter. A project in Minhang with a price tag of over 93,000 yuan per square meter became the second most popular after unloading 5,599 square meters, or 31 units, according to Centaline data.
On the supply side, about 166,000 square meters of new houses, the majority beyond the Outer Ring Road and asking for between 30,000 yuan and 40,000 yuan per square meter, were released into the local market, a week-over-week increase of 40.4 percent.
For more information about Shanghai apartments for rent, please follow our website.
