City's new housing market ends 2020 with a roar

Sales of new homes in the city ended 2020 on a high note amid abundant supply, according to the latest market data.

By area, new residential properties sold — excluding government-subsidized affordable housing — jumped 59.1 percent from November to exceed 1.22 million square meters, making December the best month of 2020, according to a regular monthly report released today by Shanghai Centaline Property Consultancy.

"An influx of new supply, primarily located in outlying districts like Qingpu, Baoshan and Fengxian, helped the market quickly recover from a major setback in November when sales hit a six-month low," said Lu Wenxi, Centaline's senior research manager. 

Around the city, more than 1.35 million square meters of new houses, spanning 44 projects, were rolled out in December, a 61-month high, according to Centaline data. That figure is in stark contrast to only 160,000 square meters released in November.

The average price of a new home fell 1.7 percent from November to a yearly low of 51,941 yuan (US$7,973) per square meter, as sales remained most robust in the medium to low-end segment.

Of the top-10 residential projects by sales, six were priced at less than 50,000 yuan per square meter with the least expensive selling for less than 30,000 yuan per square meter.

Outperforming all others was a development in Baoshan District, which sold 62,805 square meters, or 598 apartments, at an average price of 64,201 yuan per square meter. It was also the most expensive project in the top-10 list.

For January and February, industry analysts expect to see a retreat in buyers' sentiment during what is normally the low season for property sales, but a major rebound is predicted to follow in March.