New home sales in Shanghai plunged more than 80 percent last week as the week-long Spring Festival holiday and a prevalent "wait-and-see" attitude curbed buyers' sentiment.

Sales of new homes, excluding those meant for relocated residents under urban redevelopment plans, dived 82 percent from the previous week to 13,000 square meters across the city between February 15 and 21, Shanghai Uwin Real Estate Information Services Co said yesterday.

Average prices, though, remained stable at 19,079 yuan (US$2,793) per square meter, a weekly drop of 4 percent. No supply of new homes was registered during the period.

"Only 21 units of new homes were transacted during the seven-day national holiday (February 13-19), the lowest since 2006 when we started to track the city's property data," said Lu Qilin, a researcher at Uwin. "Most home buyers expect a drop in home prices over the coming months as a result of the government's recent implementation of measures to curb speculation and cool the country's overheated market."

The transaction volume of new homes during the holiday stood at 119 units in 2006, 188 units in 2007, 54 units in 2008 and 79 units in 2009, according to Uwin statistics.