Transaction volumes of both new and second-hand homes shrunk
significantly in the city over the past month, statistics from
major real estate agencies show.
"October is the fourth consecutive month that witnessed a drop
in transaction volume of new houses," said Xue Jianxiong, head of
research at Shanghai Youwin Real Estate Information Service Co Ltd.
"A somewhat overdrawn purchasing power in the first half of this
year, the recently announced new mortgage policy as well as an
insufficient market supply might jointly contribute to the
decrease."
A total of 1.62 million square meters of new residential
properties were sold in the city between October 1 and October 30,
a decrease of 22 percent from September, according to Youwin.
That was less than half that sold in the peak June period, with
a total of 3.5 million square meters in new houses.
The People's Bank of China and China Banking Regulatory
Commission announced on September 27 that mortgage holders who
apply for a second home loan must produce a down payment of at
least 40 percent and pay a 10-percent premium on their interest
rate. Many potential home buyers were waiting to see details of the
policy, industry insiders said.
Meanwhile, statistics from leading real estate agency Centaline
showed sales of used apartments fell by about 30 percent in the
city in October, a drop of 50 percent from same period a year
earlier.
Earlier media reports said the local supply of new residential
properties dropped below six million square meters on October 9, a
historic low since the second half of 2005, citing the official
Shanghai Real Estate Trading Center Website.
Only about 5.76 million square meters of new houses were
available for sale then. Experts say a supply of some 10 million
square meters is regarded as normal.
However, the average housing price for new homes seemed to
maintain an upward trend last month, mainly because more high-end
apartments and villas - usually priced at more than 30,000 yuan per
square meter - were sold during the period.
According to Youwin, new houses were sold at an average 11,577
yuan (US$1,543) per square meter in October, an increase of 10.18
percent from a month ago.
(Shanghai Daily November 1, 2007)
