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Doubts hit new home sales
By Cao Qian |
March 16, 2010, Tuesday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
NEW home sales in Shanghai continued to be sluggish in the first two weeks of this month amid low supply as real estate developers are uncertain of the prospects for the market.
About 218,000 square meters of new homes, excluding those designated for relocated residents under urban redevelopment plans, were sold in the city between March 1 and March 14, less than half of the volume in the same period a year earlier.
The supply of new homes during the two weeks plunged to 93,000 square meters, even less than 10 percent of the stock in the same period in 2009, Shanghai Uwin Real Estate Information Services Co said yesterday.
"Most real estate developers are still not sure about how to price their products properly," said Lu Qilin, a researcher at Uwin. "On one hand, they fear that sales will be affected if they set their prices too high but on the other hand, they might lose money if the price is set too low. Releasing supply in small volumes could help test the water for them."
The market did an about-turn over the past two-and-a-half months after a crazy 2009 when housing prices nationwide soared at a record pace.
"Most developers won't likely to launch large volumes of new homes into the market until they get a clearer perspective," Lu added. In Shanghai, the housing market usually starts to pick up in March with both supply and sales rebounding notably after the traditional slack January and February when the Spring Festival holiday occurs, analysts said.
While transactions in the housing market were sluggish, prices continued to stay above the 20,000 yuan (US$2,928) per square meter mark. The average price of new homes hit 20,487 yuan per square meter in Shanghai in the first 14 days of the month, against 19,696 yuan per square meter in February, according to Uwin statistics.
The Shanghai Statistics Bureau also said yesterday investment in real estate development climbed nearly 12 percent to 23.1 billion yuan in the first two months of the year and housing sales dropped 7 percent to 2.83 million square meters in the same period.
About 218,000 square meters of new homes, excluding those designated for relocated residents under urban redevelopment plans, were sold in the city between March 1 and March 14, less than half of the volume in the same period a year earlier.
The supply of new homes during the two weeks plunged to 93,000 square meters, even less than 10 percent of the stock in the same period in 2009, Shanghai Uwin Real Estate Information Services Co said yesterday.
"Most real estate developers are still not sure about how to price their products properly," said Lu Qilin, a researcher at Uwin. "On one hand, they fear that sales will be affected if they set their prices too high but on the other hand, they might lose money if the price is set too low. Releasing supply in small volumes could help test the water for them."
The market did an about-turn over the past two-and-a-half months after a crazy 2009 when housing prices nationwide soared at a record pace.
"Most developers won't likely to launch large volumes of new homes into the market until they get a clearer perspective," Lu added. In Shanghai, the housing market usually starts to pick up in March with both supply and sales rebounding notably after the traditional slack January and February when the Spring Festival holiday occurs, analysts said.
While transactions in the housing market were sluggish, prices continued to stay above the 20,000 yuan (US$2,928) per square meter mark. The average price of new homes hit 20,487 yuan per square meter in Shanghai in the first 14 days of the month, against 19,696 yuan per square meter in February, according to Uwin statistics.
The Shanghai Statistics Bureau also said yesterday investment in real estate development climbed nearly 12 percent to 23.1 billion yuan in the first two months of the year and housing sales dropped 7 percent to 2.83 million square meters in the same period.
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