Demand for small- and medium-sized apartments continued to outstrip supply in Shanghai in the first quarter of this year, according to a latest industry research.

Between January and March, sales of new homes measuring no bigger than 120 square meters each, excluding those designated for relocated residents under urban redevelopment plans, reached 962,000 square meters, accounting for nearly 53 percent of new homes sold in the city, according to Shanghai Uwin Real Estate Information Services Co. However, the city's stock of small- and medium-size apartments was 1.85 million square meters as of Sunday - or one-third of the city's total new home supply.

"While small- and medium-size apartments remained the most popular among home buyers, especially the end-users, due to their comparatively lower overall cost, supply seemed to be insufficient, particularly in central parts of the city," said Lu Qilin, a Uwin researcher. "It is possible that such an imbalance might lead to some price increase."

The suburban districts of Songjiang, Jiading, Baoshan and Fengxian have the city's biggest concentration of these homes, Lu said. He added that small- and medium-size apartment projects with downtown addresses are very popular with home seekers due to their scarcity.

An example is Fudun, a new residential development within the Inner Ring Road - at the intersection of Siping Road and Quyang Road - which saw all numbers for 150 units of 70 to 90 square meters that it plans to launch later this month taken up last week, a sales representative told Shanghai Daily yesterday. He added that inquiries are still being received. Home buyers first need to get a number from the sales office before being allowed to select their apartments when the project is officially launched later, a usual practice in China during a housing boom.

New homes of less than 90 square meters total 951,000 square meters in the city, compared with an overall apartment inventory of 3.95 million square meters, according to Uwin.