The average price of new housing hit a record 16,988 yuan (US$2,498) a square meter in Shanghai last month.

The average price jumped 21.9 percent, while the number of sales was about the same as the previous month, according to a survey by Shanghai Youwin Real Estate Information Service Co Ltd.

Supply of new residential properties, excluding those designated for relocation, reached about 1.2917 million square meters in June. A total of 1.0426 million square meters was sold in the month, Youwin said.

This compared with a supply of 1.3351 million square meters and sales of 1.0428 million square meters in May.

"High transaction volumes in several luxury residential properties, such as Casa Lakeville in Xintiandi, Maison des Artistes in Gubei and Yanlord Riverside City in Pudong, helped push up the average price for June," said Xue Jianxiong, head of research at Youwin.

"This again indicated very strong purchasing power in the city's mid- to high-end market."

Youwin's figures showed that Maison des Artistes, a project developed by Hutchison Whampoa Property, sold 267 units at an average price of 34,190 yuan a square meter last month.

Casa Lakeville, by Shui On Group, sold 99 units at an average 84,977 yuan a square meter, and Yanlord Riverside City, by Yanlord Land Group, sold 91 at an average 37,632 yuan a square meter.

Industry statistics show about 30 batches of new developments covering all property types - residential, office and commercial - are likely to come on the market in Shanghai this month.

Supply of residential development will probably hit between 900,000 and 1.1 million square meters, Youwin estimated.

Some experts predicted sales volume this month will shrink, with only 600,000 to 800,000 square meters of new houses sold. The market has been undergoing a correction, likely to last another three to six months, they said.

(Shanghai Daily July 2, 2008)