Shanghai's new home sales rise for second straight week

Sales of new homes rebounded moderately in Shanghai for the second consecutive week while supply remained low, the latest market data showed.

The area of new homes sold, excluding government-subsidized affordable housing, rose 27.2 percent to 150,700 square meters during the seven-day period ending Sunday, Shanghai Centaline Property Consultants Co said in a report released today.

Nanhui in Pudong New Area led with weekly sales of 24,200 square meters, followed by Western Qingpu District with 22,500 square meters of new houses sold.

The average cost of a new home fell 6.3 percent from a week earlier to 53,453 yuan (US$8,324) per square meter, according to Centaline data.

"While overall sentiment remained weak, the former Luwan District registered quite robust sales with weekly transactions exceeding 10,000 square meters and two projects in the area making into the top 10 list," said Lu Wenxi, senior manager of research at Centaline.

A residential development in outlying Fengxian District, which sold 8,042 square meters, or 85 apartments, at an average  37,169 yuan per square meter, emerged as the most popular project last week. It was closely trailed by a project in Nanhui which recorded weekly sales of 7,924 square meters, or 90 units, at an average 21,306 yuan per square meter.

Around 57,200 square meters of new apartments at one development were released into the local market, a week-over-week increase of 37.2 percent, according to Centaline data.

"As real estate developers usually gear up at this period to boost their half-year performance, new home supply may continue to climb over the coming few weeks," Shanghai Homelink Real Estate Agency Co said in a report released today. That may pressure developers, particularly in areas where there is abundant supply which will benefit home seekers who also might enjoy lower prices as competition heats up, the report added.