The average new home price in Shanghai rose above 22,000 yuan (US$3,517) per square meter again last week as sentiment for mid- to high-end properties improved though overall sales fell by double digits, industry data showed yesterday.

The sales of new homes, excluding government-funded affordable housing, shed 17.5 percent on a weekly basis to 208,800 square meters during the seven-day period through Sunday, Shanghai Deovolente Realty Co said.

They were sold at an average of 22,163 yuan per square meter, the highest in five weeks and a weekly rise of 10.2 percent.

"The city's mid- to high-end housing market, which has been rather quiet for some time, recorded a notable rebound last week," said Lu Qilin, a Deovolente researcher. "A total of 45,500 square meters' new homes costing 30,000 yuan a square meter and above were sold across the city, the highest in 11 weeks."

Citywide, new homes costing 30,000-50,000 yuan per square meter took up 16 percent of total deals, up from 8 percent in the previous week, according to a separate research released yesterday by Century 21 China Real Estate.

"Despite the double-digit drop in transactions, the weekly volume of more than 200,000 square meters still signaled a robust demand," said Huang Hetao, a Century 21 research manager. "October's sales volume will likely outperform that in September though the rise would be insignificant."

Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)