Shanghai home market wavers in December

Sentiment among home buyers declined in the last month of 2019 amidst an increase in new supply, with medium- to high-end segments recording comparatively better results.

The area of new residential properties sold, excluding government-subsidized affordable housing, fell 1.8 percent to 690,000 square meters in December, according to a regular monthly report released on Thursday by Shanghai Centaline Property Consultancy Co.

"While real estate developers geared up for better sales to round up the year, 'wait-and-see' sentiment seemed to emerge again in some parts of the city," said Lu Wenxi, Centaline's senior research manager.

Centaline data showed that a total of 737,000 square meters of new housing space, spanning 24 projects, were released into the local market, a month-over-month surge of 52.3 percent.

The average price for a new home, meanwhile, rose 6.5 percent from November to 55,711 yuan (US$7,986) per square meter.

Three of the 10 most popular projects cost more than 80,000 yuan per square meter, with one of them exceeding 110,000 yuan per square meter.

Citywide, a residential project in Zhoukang, Pudong New Area, became the most sought-after development after unloading 22,874 square meters, or 151 units of new homes, for an average price of 59,664 yuan per square meter, according to Centaline data.