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Shanghai housing market shows improvement
By Cao Qian |
January 5, 2009, Monday
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Online Edition
Online Edition
BUYING sentiment for houses in Shanghai improved during the New Year holiday, both in the new and used homes sector, the city's major brokerage operator and research body said today.
Shanghai Centaline Property Consultants Ltd, with more than 150 branches across the city, said many of its offices had an increased number of customer inquiries and property"viewings."
"Daily customer visits to Centaline branches jumped by more than 20 percent on average during the three-day period compared to late December and in some areas there was stronger momentum among home buyers,"said Lu Hong, a company marketing official.
"New policies introduced by both central and local governments helped boost market sentiment to some extent,"Lu Hong said.
A Centaline branch in northern Zhabei District said it almost doubled customer visits during the holiday and about 20 "viewing"appointments were done every day.
This was encouraging for the local housing market which had been long plagued by sluggish sales, Lu Hong said..
Houses with a price tag of below 1 million yuan (US$146,000), as well as mid to high-end properties of between 2 million and 2.5 million yuan, seemed to be the most popular.
"Properties in those two categories accounted for more than 70 percent of total deals completed recently,"said Lai Shufan, a district director with Shanghai Centaline.
Sales increases have also been significant in the new home sector.
On Sunday, the first working day in 2009, new home sales, excluding those designated for relocation, reached 494 units, or 54,686 square meters, across the city.
This was a 100 percent increase on the daily average of 27,300 square meters recorded in December, according to statistics released yesterday by Shanghai Uwin Real Estate Information Services Co.
"Measures introduced by the government could be a major reason for the sales boom,'' said Lu Qilin, deputy head of research at Shanghai Uwin.
"However, it's also partly because deals reached during the three-day holiday had to be formally secured at trade centers on Sunday which was the first working day of 2009."
Shanghai enacted a tax cut and favorable loan policies for second-time home buyers under a new stimulus package which became effective on January 1.
Anyone who has owned a home for at least two years can now sell it without having to pay a 5.5 percent tax. The previous waiting period for a tax free sale was at least five years. Anyone selling a home less than two years after buying it will pay taxes only on the profit, not on the total sales price.
In addition, people who buy second houses to improve their living conditions will now be able to enjoy favorable lending rates previously only available for first-time home buyers.
Shanghai Centaline Property Consultants Ltd, with more than 150 branches across the city, said many of its offices had an increased number of customer inquiries and property"viewings."
"Daily customer visits to Centaline branches jumped by more than 20 percent on average during the three-day period compared to late December and in some areas there was stronger momentum among home buyers,"said Lu Hong, a company marketing official.
"New policies introduced by both central and local governments helped boost market sentiment to some extent,"Lu Hong said.
A Centaline branch in northern Zhabei District said it almost doubled customer visits during the holiday and about 20 "viewing"appointments were done every day.
This was encouraging for the local housing market which had been long plagued by sluggish sales, Lu Hong said..
Houses with a price tag of below 1 million yuan (US$146,000), as well as mid to high-end properties of between 2 million and 2.5 million yuan, seemed to be the most popular.
"Properties in those two categories accounted for more than 70 percent of total deals completed recently,"said Lai Shufan, a district director with Shanghai Centaline.
Sales increases have also been significant in the new home sector.
On Sunday, the first working day in 2009, new home sales, excluding those designated for relocation, reached 494 units, or 54,686 square meters, across the city.
This was a 100 percent increase on the daily average of 27,300 square meters recorded in December, according to statistics released yesterday by Shanghai Uwin Real Estate Information Services Co.
"Measures introduced by the government could be a major reason for the sales boom,'' said Lu Qilin, deputy head of research at Shanghai Uwin.
"However, it's also partly because deals reached during the three-day holiday had to be formally secured at trade centers on Sunday which was the first working day of 2009."
Shanghai enacted a tax cut and favorable loan policies for second-time home buyers under a new stimulus package which became effective on January 1.
Anyone who has owned a home for at least two years can now sell it without having to pay a 5.5 percent tax. The previous waiting period for a tax free sale was at least five years. Anyone selling a home less than two years after buying it will pay taxes only on the profit, not on the total sales price.
In addition, people who buy second houses to improve their living conditions will now be able to enjoy favorable lending rates previously only available for first-time home buyers.
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