Abundant supply boosts new housing market for July

Abundant new supply coupled with strong sentiment in the medium to high-end segment significantly boosted Shanghai's new housing market in July, the latest industry data showed.

The area of residential properties sold, excluding government-subsidized affordable housing, surged to a 16-month high of around 719,000 square meters, or an increase of 64.5 percent from June, Shanghai Centaline Property Consultants Co said in a report released on Wednesday.

The average cost of a new home, meanwhile, climbed 5.3 percent from the previous month to 53,592 yuan (US$7,886) per square meter, a monthly record for the city, according to Centaline data.

"Fuelled by greatly improved new supply, the local new housing market registered outstanding performance in July, which used to be a traditional low season for property sales mainly due to the hot weather," said Lu Wenxi, senior manager of research at Centaline. "We expect this strong momentum to extend through August amid sufficient supply as well as continuously robust demand among home buyers."

Citywide, around 989,000 square meters of new houses spanning 27 projects were released onto the local market last month, compared with some 23,000 square meters of new homes spanning two projects launched in June, according to Centaline data.

Across the city, a Longfor Property project in outlying Jiading District became the most sought-after residential development after selling 86,381 square meters of new homes, or 829 apartments, last month for an average price of 51,805 yuan per square meter. 

A Gemdale project in remote Songjiang District, with a price tag of 41,007 yuan per square meter, followed most closely with a monthly transaction of 59,059 square meters, or 588 units.

Notably, Lakeville Luxe, a benchmark luxury project developed by Shui On Land in downtown Xintiandi area, made it into July's top 10 list after unloading 11,095 square meters, or 31 units, for an average price of 140,901 yuan per square meter, Centaline data showed.