Small apartments most sought after in H1

Small apartments most sought after in H1

SMALL and medium-sized apartments again dominated the city's pre-occupied housing market in the first half of this year while nearly two-thirds of the homes sold during the period cost below 3 million yuan (US$443,013), a leading realty chain said today.

Nearly 73 percent of pre-owned houses that changed hands in Shanghai between January and June were no larger than 90 square meters and homes priced at below 3 million yuan accounted for almost 65 percent of the total transactions, according to a latest research released by Shanghai Homelink Real Estate Agency Co.

"Sales of pre-owned houses plunged 55 percent in the first six months with those in outlying districts becoming more popular among buyers — evidence of subdued demand from speculators," said Zhao Baogen，a researcher at Homelink. "As tightening measures remain strictly enforced, the city's pre-owned home market will continue to cool with more owners willing to offer larger discounts than the current 2 to 3 percent prevalent in the market."

Sales of pre-owned homes smaller than 50 square meters and those between 50 and 70 square meters both rose in the first half of this year, by 3.94 percentage points and 2.69 percentage points, respectively, from the same period a year ago, Homelink data showed.

By proximity to city center, sales of pre-owned houses in remote Jinshan and Fengxian districts climbed the most. Transactions of pre-owned houses in Jinshan accounted for 5.27 percent of the city's total in the first half, up from 3.89 percent in the first six months of 2016. Sales of pre-owned homes in Fengxian rose from 4.02 percent to 4.79 percent during the same period.