Home Sales Jump in Shanghai

  Econintersect:  Sales of existing properties in Shanghai, mainly houses, may jump about 70 percent in March from February, said Century 21 China Real Estate after tracking business at its 300 outlets across the city during the first 27 days of this month.  According to reports from the major realtor firms in the city, buying sentiment has rebounded and prices have been firm.  The biggest demand appears to be for lower priced homes.From Shanghai Daily: 

“Sales of existing properties should well exceed 10,000 units this month in Shanghai amid recovering momentum particularly in some outlying areas, mainly due to the comparatively affordable prices as well as robust demand from first-time home buyers,” said Eric Luo, a researcher at Century 21 China Real Estate, the city’s largest estate chain in terms of outlet numbers.

“However, buying sentiment for mid to high-end properties, such as those in Lujiazui and Lianyang areas in Pudong, Zhongshan Park and Gubei areas in Changning District, still seemed quite sluggish as home owners remained firm about their asking prices.”

Shanghai Centaline Property Consultants Ltd also reported a similar scenario at its outlets.

“As of March 20, two more existing units were sold at our Centaline branches in the whole Lujiazui area compared with February, indicating a rather slow recovery in the high-end market,” said Zhang Lei, a Centaline branch manager in Lujiazui. “Meanwhile, the number of home-viewing appointments arranged for potential buyers only rose 10 percent from a month ago during the same period.”

The low to mid-end market offered a sharp contrast. For instance, sales of existing homes in Caoyang area in Putuo District jumped 60 percent while home-viewing arrangements also rose by more than 50 percent, according to Centaline agents.

Sales of existing properties sank more than 60 percent to fewer than 8,000 units in Shanghai in February – an immediate result from the government’s latest tighter policies.

Century 21 China Real estate estimates that March sales may be 70% greater than February.  However, that would still leave March sales at only about 2/3 of January’s high levels.

Source:  Shanghai Daily