New home prices climbed for the fourth consecutive month in Shanghai in October amid unabated interest among buyers of upscale properties although the latest rein-in policies released by the government have started to curb sentiment for less expensive apartments.

In the past month, new homes were sold for an average 21,884 yuan (US$3,271) per square meter, a 3.1 percent increase from September, Shanghai Uwin Real Estate Information Services Co said yesterday.

Average new home prices in Shanghai have held above 21,000 yuan per square meter since August, Uwin statistics showed.

New apartments built for relocated residents under urban redevelopment plans were excluded in the study.

"Robust sales of luxury homes continued to push up the average price for the fourth straight month," said Lu Qilin, a Uwin researcher. "Last month in Pudong, a villa sold for 115 million yuan, probably the most expensive villa deal registered in Shanghai in about a year."

According to Uwin research, about 77,700 square meters of new homes with a price tag of more than 50,000 yuan per square meter were transacted in Shanghai in October, an increase of 7,000 square meters from April, when average new home prices soared to a record 22,926 yuan per square meter.

By volume, a total of 1.32 million square meters of new houses were sold, almost unchanged from 1.33 million square meters registered in September, the highest monthly volume so far this year.

While the monthly volume remained high, buyers' sentiment has decreased over the past few weeks as a result of more tightening measures from the government.

Between October 4 and 31, weekly sales volumes of new homes stood at 450,000 square meters, 346,000 square meters, 319,000 square meters and 206,000 square meters, according to Uwin statistics.

On October 7, Shanghai put another brake on housing speculation by joining Beijing in capping the number of homes a family can purchase.

Moreover, since October, major commercial banks adopted a 15 percent discount on standard mortgage rates for first-time home buyers, down from up to 30 percent discounts previously.

"With a smaller discount for first-time buyers, individuals buying second homes may encounter even tighter mortgage terms in the future," said Song Huiyong, research director at Shanghai Centaline Property Consultants Ltd.