Demand in outlying areas lifts 7-day sales of new homes by 74% in Shanghai

SEVEN-DAY sales of new homes exceeded the 100,000-square-meter threshold in Shanghai for the first time in 11 weeks, boosted by robust demand for homes in outlying areas.

The area of new homes sold, excluding government-subsidized affordable housing, jumped 74 percent from the previous week to 123,100 square meters during the seven-day period ended Sunday, Shanghai Homelink Real Estate Agency Co said in a report released today.

The city's outlying Fengxian District led with weekly transactions of new homes at 31,000 square meters. It was followed by Nanhui in Pudong New Area where 16,000 square meters of new homes were sold and Qingpu District with 15,000 square meters sold during the same period.

"The notable recovery in sales indicated that demand from end-users for medium to low-end homes remained strong in Shanghai," said Zhang Yue, chief analyst with Shanghai Homelink. "Projects with comparatively affordable prices are always popular among general buyers."

Around 75,000 square meters of new houses were unveiled locally last week, up 2.9 percent week on week. More than 750 new apartments at two projects were launched to notch the highest volume in 12 weeks, Homelink data showed.

Meanwhile the average cost of new homes shed 2.6 percent from the previous week to 47,493 yuan (US$7,171) per square meter. Three of the 10 best-selling projects sold for more than 50,000 yuan per square meter and one sold for below 30,000 yuan per square meter.

A residential development in Fengxian was the most sought-after project of the week after it sold 229 units,  or 21,865 square meters, for 37,109 yuan per square meter each.