September marks new high for Shanghai home sales

New home sales in Shanghai rose to a year-to-date high in September amid a surge in new supply.

A total of around 790,000 square meters of new residential properties, excluding government-subsidized affordable housing, were sold across the city last month, an increase of 1.8 percent from August, according to a regular monthly report released on Tuesday by Shanghai Centaline Property Consultants Co.

"September was the traditional busy season for property sales with improved sentiment among buyers being registered in almost all districts," said Lu Wenxi, Centaline's senior research manager. "The average cost of a new home also rose due to strong sales at several luxury and high-end projects."

Citywide, Nanhui, now part of the Pudong New Area, outperformed all with some 132,000 square meters of new homes being unloaded last month. Fengxian District followed closely with nearly 100,000 square meters of new houses being sold, and Qingpu District took third place with transaction volume hitting around 88,000 square meters, Centaline data showed.

The average price for a new home jumped 8.2 percent from a month ago to 53,808 yuan (US$7,545) per square-meter.

By project, a residential development in Minhang District sold a total of 33,660 square meters, or 244 units, of new homes, for an average price of 54,221 yuan per square meter, dwarfing all counterparts around the city. Notably, two luxury developments, both asking for more than 100,000 yuan per square meter, grabbed the No.4 and No.5 positions in last month's top 10 list, after selling 110 and 118 units, respectively.

On the supply side, about 923,000 square meters of new homes, spanning 25 projects, were released into the local market, a surge of 113.7 percent from August, according to Centaline data.

"Momentum picked up just as expected among both home buyers and developers as the market gradually recuperated its strength following a slack summer season," Lu said. "However, with all tightening measures remaining firmly in place, we believe the strength will be extended for a while through October while no significant gains should be anticipated."