Shanghai's real estate investment vibrant in 2017

Investment in Shanghai's real estate was vibrant this year with en bloc investment deals remaining above the 100 billion yuan (US$15 billion) threshold for the second consecutive year, global real estate services provider Cushman & Wakefield said in a report released today.

As of mid December, more than 120 major real estate investment deals worth over 120 billion yuan in total, excluding land transactions and confined to property acquisitions worth over US$10 million each, had been sealed in the city.

However, this was slightly below 2016 when more than 130 billion yuan worth of deals were concluded but higher than the yearly average of 40 billion yuan the city recorded between 2010 and 2015, according to Cushman & Wakefield data.

"Office towers continued to be the most sought-after property type in the local market while residential buildings, among others, have gained increasing interest from institutional investors," said Eric Lu, director of investment and advisory services for Cushman & Wakefield's China operation. "In particular, fully-leased office buildings in traditional CBD areas, old offices or hotels that will be renovated or converted, as well as high-quality buildings in emerging CBDs such as the Hongqiao Transport Hub, Lingkong and Wujiaochang areas, are the most popular."

Office buildings accounted for 75 percent by value and 70 percent by volume of the total investment deals in Shanghai so far this year, the data showed.