Shanghai new home market tumbles in October

New home-buying sentiment retreated in Shanghai last month, mainly due to the weeklong holiday as well as a drop in new supply.

A total of around 538,000 square meters of new residential properties, excluding government-subsidized affordable housing, were sold across the city last month, a plunge of 31.9 percent from September, according to a regular monthly report released on Friday by Shanghai Centaline Property Consultants Co.

"That was within our expectation, partly because of the National Day holiday while it was also a natural retreat from the year-to-date high volume in September," said Lu Wenxi, Centaline's senior research manager. "The average cost of a new home, however, remained almost unchanged."

Citywide, remote Qingpu District led all and Nanhui, now part of the Pudong New Area, followed most immediately, according to Centaline data.

The average price for a new home edged up 1 percent from a month ago to 54,372 yuan (US$7,703) per square meter.

By project, a residential development in Jiading District sold a total of 27,993 square meters, or 283 units, of new homes for an average price of 52,042 yuan per square meter, dwarfing all counterparts around the city. Notably, one luxury development in downtown Huangpu District, with a price tag of over 128,800 yuan per square meter, grabbed the No. 6 position in last month's top 10 list, after selling 70 apartments.

On the supply side, about 611,000 square meters of new homes, spanning 19 projects, were released into the local market, a drop of 33.8 percent from September, Centaline data showed.