Shanghai property sales climb, though new supplies still absent
Home buying momentum continued to build in Shanghai last week though lack of new supply still hinders a solid recovery, the latest market data show.
The total area of new residential properties sold, excluding government-funded affordable housing, rose 23.6 percent week over week to around 84,000 square meters during the seven-day period ending Sunday, Shanghai Centaline Property Consultants Co said in its regular weekly report released on Monday.
Across the city, outlying areas remained the driving force in the market with the Nanhui region of the Pudong New Area recording sales of 11,000 square meters. Jiading District followed immediately with seven-day transaction hitting 9,839 square meters, a weekly increase of 29.1 percent.
"The market has been steadily regaining its strength," said Lu Wenxi, Centaline's senior researcher. "However, last week's volume was just about half the regular level as the market continued to be plagued by an absence of new supply."
For the tenth consecutive week in Shanghai, no new supply entered the market.
The average price of a new home, meanwhile, shed 2.6 percent from the previous week to 56,468 yuan (US$7,953) per square meter, according to Centaline data.
Among last week's top 10 bestsellers, three projects bore price tags of around 100,000 yuan per square meter or above, while the rest fell below the 50,000-yuan-per-square-meter mark.
A Shui On Land development in Hongkou District maintained the top spot after unloading 3,046 square meters, or 20 units, of new homes at an average price of 111,193 yuan per square meter. One project in Xuhui District, with a price tag of 99,504 yuan per square meter, trailed most closely after unloading 2,385 square meters, or 18 units, during the same period.
The cheapest project in the top 10 list was located in Nanhui, which sold 1,191 square meters, or 13 units, for an average price of 26,076 yuan per square meter, earning itself a ninth-place spot, according to Centaline data.
